LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


M74  91 


T    H    S 


■ 


■ 


LIFE  or 


/VlARY  /ViOMHOLLAflD 


ONE  OF   THE   PIONEER  SISTERS  OF   THE   ORDER 
OF  MERCY  IN  THE  WEST. 


A  MEMBER  OF  THE  ORDER. 

(  W:TH    PERMISSION) 


rfSlessefc  are  tbe  oeno  who  Die  in  tbe  Xorfc." 


CHICAGO: 
J.  S.  HYLAND   &  COMPANY, 

323-325   Dearborn   Street, 

1894. 


Copyright,    1894.. 

MOTHER  SUPERIOR,  ST.  XAVIER'S  CONVENT  OF  MERCY, 

Iowa  City,   Iowa. 


all  Rights  Reserved. 


3 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

MARY  MONHOLLAND'S  EALRY  LIFE.  ITALIAN  STATU- 
ARY. RELIGIOUS  VOCATION.  INJURIES  CAUSED  BY 
ILLNESS.       PARTING    WITH  HER    FATHER.       -       -       12 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  ORDER  OF  MERCY.  A  NEW  YORK  SISTER  OF  CHARITY. 
MARY  MONHOLLAND'S  CHOICE.  GOING  TO  CHICAGO. 
STORM  ON  LAKE  MICHIGAN.  MR.  OGDEN  SAVES  MARY 
MONHOLLAND  FROM  DROWNING. 22 

CHAPTER  III. 

ENTERING  THE  CONVENT.  BISHOP  QUARTER'S  PALACE. 
MOTHER  FRANCIS  AS  PHYSICIAN.  GUARDING  ST. 
XAVIER'S.  REV.  FATHER  BADIN.  GOVERNING 
PUPILS. 28 

CHAPTER  IV. 

DEATH  OF  RT.  REV.  BISHOP  QUARTER.  REV.  MOTHER 
AGATHA  O'BRIEN  RETURNS  TO  PITTSBURGH.  SHE 
COMES  BACK  TO  CHICAGO.  THE  SISTERS  OF  MERCY 
GO  TO  OMAHA.  LAKE  HOUSE  HOTEL,  THE  FIRST 
MERCY    HOSPITAL.       THE  ORPHANAGE.       -       -       -       37 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

night  schools.  sodality  op  the  blessed  virgin, 
judge  arrington.  experience  op  a  convert. 
Chicago's  first  statue,  death  op  the  sculp- 
tor.      -     49 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  CHOLERA.  DEATH  OF  REV.  MOTHER  AGATHA, 
AND  OTHER  SISTERS.  RT.  REV.  ANTHONY  o'REGAN. 
BISHOP  SMITH,  ADMINISTRATOR.  MOTHER  FRANCIS, 
SUPERIOR.  ST.  AGATHA'S  ACADEMY.  SISTERS  VISIT 
THE  JAIL.  BISHOP  DUGGAN's  EXPERIENCE  WITH  A 
PRISONER.        -       -       - 58 

CHAPTER  VII. 

st.  agatha's  academy,  drs.  n.  s.  da  vis,  and  e.  by- 
ford,  IN  CONNECTION  WITH  MERCY  HOSPITAL.  FAIRS 
FOR  THE  ORPHAN  ASYLUM.  THE  SISTERS  OF  CHARITY. 
B.  V.  M.  PURCHASE  OF  THE  FIFTY  ACRES,  NOW  A 
BOULEVARD.  ERECTION  OF  A  NEW  ST.  XAVIER's  AC- 
ADEMY.      NORRY  AND  TIM  CALLAGHAN.     -       -       -       70 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

RT.  REV.  JAMES  DUGGAN  BECOMES  BISHOP  OF  CHICAGO. 
PROPERTY  MATTERS  A  SOURCE  OF  DIFFICULTIES  FOR 
MANY  YEARS,  PROPOSAL  TO  PLACE  THE  ORPHAN 
ASYLUM  UNDER  THE  CONTROL  OF  LAYMEN,  REFUSED 
BY  MOTHER  FRANCIS.  THE  ASYLUM  GIVEN  TO  THE 
SISTERS  OF  ST.  JOSEPH.  REV.  JOHN  WALDRON,  THE 
FRIEND  OF  THE  SISTERS  OF  MERCY.  SALE  OF 
PROPERTY  NECESSITATES  REMOVAL  OF  THE  HOS- 
PITAL.          80 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  WAR.  BUILDING-  DEFERRED.  FORT  SUMTER.  MISS 
NIGHTINGALE  AND  THE  SISTERS  OF  MERCY.  LINCOLN'S 
CALL  FOR  TROOPS.  ANGELS  OF  THE  BATTLE  FIELD. 
SISTERS  AS  NURSES.  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES'  OFFER 
REFUSED. 92 

CHAPTER  X. 

MR.       LAXTRY.       A     ST.     LOUIS     BOY.       THE     JEFFERSON 

WARDEN.  BRECKINRIDGE DOUGLAS       HOSPITAL. 

FIRE  IN  CAMP.      GENERAL  FREMONT  AND  THE  SISTERS 
OF    MERCY. 101 

CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  SISTERS  RETURN  FROM  THE  WAR.  COLONEL 
SWEET  AND  CAMP  DOUGLAS.  GENEROUS  BUSINESS 
MEN  OF  CHICAGO.  MOTHER  FRANCIS  VISITS  THE 
CAMP.  ADA  SWEET.  MILITARY  SERENADES.  A 
FALLING  HOUSE  KILLS    MANY   PERSONS.         -       -       111 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  O'CONNOR  DON.  ST.  XAVIER's  FIRST  MISSION. 
GALENA,  ILLINOIS.  CONVENT  PUPILS.  THE  GUID- 
ING  SPIRIT. 122 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

MOTHER  FRANCIS'  CONSERVATISM.  MISSION  IN  OTTAWA 
A  SUCCESS.  ACADEMIC  COMMENCEMENTS.  DISTRI- 
BUTION OF  PRIZES.    VARIOUS  INCIDENTS.     -       -       135 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

MOTHER  FRANCIS  IN  IOWA.  THE  INDEPENDENCE 
MISSION.  JOURNEYINGS  TO  AND  ERO.  INCIDENTS. 
DR.  M'MULLEN'S  VISIT.  CHICAGO  FRIENDS  IN  THE 
WEST.  INDEPENDENCE  ON  FIRE.  MOTHER  BOR- 
ROMEO'S    DEATH. 145 

CHAPTER   XY. 

THE  NEW  SEE  OF  DAVENPORT.  RT.  REV.  BISHOP 
M'MULLEN.  .MOTHER  FRANCIS  SUPERIOR  OF  THE  DAV- 
ENPORT CONVENT.  THE  CHOLERA.  A  PECULIAR  BE- 
QUEST. AN  INSANE  WOMAN.  DEATH  OF  BISHOP 
M'MULLEN. 156 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

RT.  REV.  BISHOP  COSGROVE,  CONSECRATION  AT  CATHE- 
DRAL. REV.  MOTHER  M.  BAPTIST.  MOTHER  FRAN- 
CIS, ASSISTANT.  LAST  ILLNESS.  DEATH  OF  MOTHER 
FRANCIS.  A  MARTYR'S  BODY.  FUNERAL  SER- 
VICES.  165 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

CONVENT     CHARACTERISTICS. OFFICE    FOR    THE    DEAD. 

HEMORRHAGES.  PENANCE.  FAITH.  SELF-CONTROL. 
PRAYER.  CHARITY.  A  CUP  OF  TEA.  AN  ANGRY 
CARPENTER.    ST.  MONICA'S  PLAN.    IMPATIENCE.   -  173 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

CONVENT     CHARACTERISTICS,       CONTINUED. DEVOTION 

TO  THE  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION.  THE  LAKE 
WATER.  FAITH  IN  ST.  JOSEPH'S  INTERCESSION. 
PATIENCE.  AN  OBSTINATE  CARRIAGE  DRIVER.  THE 
END.  ----- 183 


PREFACE. 


To  a  casual  observer  it  might  seem  that  there  are 
few  saints  to  be  found  in  the  world  now-a-days; 
that  hearts  have  grown  cold;  that  religious  enthusi- 
asm has  in  a  measure  disappeared;  that  bodily 
penances  are  little  practiced;  that  the  spirit  of  self- 
sacrifice  is  rarely  met  with;  that  forgetfulness  of  self, 
to  benefit  others,  does  not  mark  this  materialistic  age. 
In  reality,  it  is  not  so.  There  are  real,  living,  work- 
a-day  saints,  to  be  found  in  many  homes — monastic 
and  secular-of  whom  the  world  knows  little  or  noth- 
ing.    The  present  century  has  seen  some. 

Mother  Margaret  Mary  Hallahan,  a  Domini- 
caness of  Irish  descent,  and  English  birth,  born  in 
London,  in  1803,  was  accounted  one.  Daring  the 
greater  part  of  her  life,  she  worked  as  a  domestic 
servant,  giving  satisfaction  to  her  employers,  adorn- 
ing her  soul  with  many  virtues,  difficult  to  practice 
in  her  state  of  life.  She  loved  servitude,  affording 
her,  as  it  did,  opportunities  for  practicing  self-denial, 
mortification,  submission  to  God  and  man.  It  was 
truly  to    her — the    hidden  life.     She   lived   twenty 

(3) 


4  PEEFAOE. 

years  in  the  service  of  a  Catholic  family  in  Belgium. 
The  people  of  the  city  of  Bruges,  revered  as  a  saint, 
the  pious  domestic  who  was  so  often  seen  in  her  own 
corner  of  the  church.  The  most  inclement  weather 
did  not  prevent  her  attendance  there. 

In  1842,  she  returned  to  England,  after  spending 
thirty-nine  years  of  her  life  in  Belgium.  Then, 
Bishop  Ullathorn,  first  learned  her  worth,  and  assisted 
her  in  founding  convents,  orphanages,  schools,  and 
hospitals,  which  facts  have  passed  into  monastic  his- 
tory. Bishop  Ullathorn  wrote  of  her:  "Rare  as 
suns  are  those  souls  which  seem  to  act  on  other  souls 
like  a  sacramental  power,  shedding  the  rays  of  their 
own  inward  sense  of  God,  and  vital  warmth  of  spirit, 
into  the  souls  that  come  within  the  sphere  of  their 
action.  Here,  we  come  to  understand  the  greatness 
of  this  soul,  so  ardent,  vigorous,  expansive,  diffusive. 
Not  that  she  diffused  herself,  but  the  enlightening, 
warming,  invigorating  grace  within  her,  whereby 
she  opened  souls  to  her  influence,  as  the  sun  opens 
blossoms  into  flowers;  and  not  only  did  other  souls 
open  themselves,  but  they  bowed  themselves  to  the 
force  of  her  superior  spirit." 

Mother  Catherine  Spalding,  Foundress  of  the 
Sisters  of  Charity,  of  Nazareth,  Kentucky,  was 
accounted  one.  Although  born  at  the  close  of  the 
last  century,  the  usefulness  of  her  life,  as  a  religious, 
extended  into  the  present  century.  A  log  cabin 
served  for  her  first  convent.     A  second  log  cabin, 


PREFACE.  ■> 

added  to  this,  was  used  as  a  seminary  for  girls.  The 
poverty  of  her  community  was  extreme.  To  preserve 
life,  she  and  her  devoted  companions,  worked  to- 
gether in  the  fields,  planted  and  husked  their  own  corn, 
cut  their  fire-wood,  fed  their  cattle,  spun  the  material 
of  which  their  clothing  was  made  dividing  the 
intervening  time  between  religious  exercises,  and 
study.  They  took  little  sleep.  Burning  with 
enthusiasm,  Mother  Catherine  infused  her  own  spirit 
into  the  hearts  of  others.  Bardstown  and  Nazareth 
Monasteries  are  lasting  monuments  of  her  zeal.'  She 
founded  many  convents,  schools,  and  asylums,  in  her 
native  state.  When  this  great  Sister  of  Charity 
found  her  end  approaching,  she  summoned  the  sisters 
to  her  bedside,  begged  pardon  for  any  disedification 
she  had  given  them,  and  then  requested  them  to 
place  her  on  the  floor  to  die,  in  which  penitential 
posture  she  yielded  up  her  soul. 

Mother  Seton,  Foundress  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
in  the  United  States,  was  accounted  one.  Beautiful, 
accomplished,  gifted,  in  the  first  days  of  her  widow- 
hood receiving  hospitality  from  warm-hearted,  Italian 
friends,  whose  household  devotion  led  her  to  contrast 
the  cold  formalism  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  of  which 
she  was  a  member,  with  the  vitality  of  Catholic  faith, 
she  instinctively  turned  to  its  altars,  wondering  why 
she  had  not  done  so  before.  An  extract  from  a  letter 
written  by  her  at  that  period,  explains  her  changed 
feelings:  Leghorn,  Italy. 


6  PKEFAOE. 

All  the  Catholic  religion  is  full  of  those  meanings 
that  interest  me.  They  believe  Kebecca,  that  all  we 
suffer,  if  we  offer  it  for  our  sins,  serves  to  expiate 
them.  You  remember  when  I  asked  Mr.  Hobart — 
afterwards  the  Protestant  Bishop  of  New  York — what 
was  meant  by  fasting  in  our  prayer  book — as  I  found 
myself  on  Ash-Wednesday,  saying  foolishly  to  God: 
I  turn  to  you  in  fasting,  weeping,  and  mourning;  and 
I  had  come  to  church  after  a  hearty  breakfast,  full 
of  life  and  spirits,  with  little  thought  of  my  sins — 
you  may  remember  he  said  something  about  its  being 
an  old  custom,  etc.,  which  remark  did  not  strengthen 
my  faith. 

"Well,  dear  Mrs.  Filicchi,  with  whom  I  am  stay- 
ing, never  eats,  this  season  of  Lent,  until  after  the 
clock  strikes  three.  Then  the  family  assemble,  and 
she  says  she  offers  her  weakness  and  pain  of  fasting 
for  her  sins,  united  with  her  Saviour's  sufferings. 
(What  do  we  do?)  I  like  that  very  much;  but  what 
I  like  better,  Rebecca,  is,  that  they  go  to  Mass  here 
every  morning.  Ah  !  how  often  you  and  I  have 
sighed  when  returning  from  church  on  Sunday 
evening,  when  the  door  was  closed  on  us,  saying  to 
each  other:  'No  more  until  next  Sunday.'  Well, 
here  they  go  to  church  at  four  o'clock  every  morning." 
Shortly  after  writing  that  letter,  she  entered  the 
Catholic  Church,  her  children  following  her  example. 
The  record  of  her  religious  life,  thenceforth,  is  a 
history  of  marvels.     The  Sisters  of  Charity,  known 


PREFACE.  * 

and  honored  throughout  the  land,  perpetuate  her 
name. 

Nano  Nagle,  an  Irish  aristocrat,  educated  in  France, 
though  belonging  to  the  eighteenth  century,  living, 
through  the  Orders  she  founded,  in  the  nineteenth, 
was  accounted  one.  Enjoying  the  luxuries  of  life, 
moving,  a  vision  of  beauty,  in  the  gay  salons  of  Paris, 
receiving  admiration  and  adulation  wherever  she 
appeared,  forgetful,  amid  the  splendor  that  sur- 
rounded her,  of  the  unhappy  land  of  her  birth, 
groveling  in  the  dust,  with  scarcely  one  ray  of  light 
in  its  horizon;  her  soul  awoke  from  its  selfish  dream 
of  enjoyment,  on  seeing  the  poor  artizans  of  the  great 
capital,  hurrying  to  morning  Mass  before  beginning 
their  daily  toil,  while  she  reclined  weariedly  in  a 
carriage  returning  from  a  midnight  ball. 

She  contrasted  her  life  with  theirs,  and  blushed  at 
the  contrast.  The  throes  of  a  new  life  were  struggling 
in  her  heart.  She  turned  her  back  on  Paris  and  its 
brilliant  salons,  and  returned  to  Ireland,  devoting 
the  remainder  of  her  life  to  the  poor  of  the  city  of 
Cork,  for  whom  she  opened  schools  in  lanes  and 
alleys,  because  they  were  prohibited  in  public  places. 
This  refined  Irish  Parisian,  dressed  in  the  simplest 
garb,  gathered  around  her  the  children  of  the  down- 
trodden people,  clothing,  feeding,  and  teaching  them 
herself.  When  the  work  became  too  oppressive,  she 
founded  a  convent  of  Ursulines  to  assist  her.  Later, 
she  founded  the  Order  of  the  Presentation  Nuns  to 


8  PKEFAOE. 

carry  on  her  work — educating  the  poor  Catholic 
children  of  Ireland.  Worn  out  with  the  labors  of 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  this  noble  woman 
was  still  seen  gliding  to  the  houses  of  the  poor,  the 
sick,  and  the  unfortunate.  Her  last  words  to  her 
devoted  religious  daughters,  were:  "Love  one 
another,  as  you  have  hitherto  done." 

Both  the  Ursulines  and  Presentation  Nuns  of  Ire- 
land, founded  by  Nano  Nagle,  are  to  be  found  in 
many  parts  of  our  own  republic. 

Catherine  McAuley,  the  great  Irish  Philanthropist, 
was  accounted  one.  Her  life  has  been  so  recently 
and  ably  written  by  one  of  her  spiritual  daughters, 
however,  that  comment  is  unnecessary.  Nothing 
could  be  added  to  that  beautifully  written  work: 
"  The  Life  of  Catherine  McAuley." 

Mother  Mary  Francis  de  Sales  Monholland,  was 
accounted  one  by  those  who  knew  her  during  her  life, 
the  details  of  which  are  presented  in  this  volume, 
with  the  hope  that  it  may  effect  some  good. 

St.  Xaiver's  Convent  of  Our  Lady  of  Mercy, 

Iowa  Ctiy,  Iowa. 


CHAPTER  I. 


MARY  MONHOLLAND  S  EARLY  LIFE.  ITALIAN  STATU- 
ARY. RELIGIOUS  YOCATIOX.  INJURIES  CAUSED  BY 
ILLNESS.       PARTING    WITH    HER    FATHER. 

THE  nineteenth  century,  like  all  the  other 
centuries  of  the  Christian  Era,  can  display  a 
long  and  glorious  roll  of  heroes  and  heroines,  who 
have  devoted  their  lives  to  the  service  of  God,  and 
the  relief  of  suffering  humanity.  Born  of  that 
fruitful  mother — the  Holy  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
they  inherited  her  sanctity,  her  zeal,  her  persevering 
efforts  to  win  souls  to  God;  erecting  Churches, 
Schools,  Hospitals,  Asylums,  Homes  for  the  Friend- 
less and  the  Outcast,  and  all  the  other  splendid 
monuments  of  Catholic  charity  that  exist  around  us. 
Our  young  Republic  is  dotted  over  with  them, 
like  the  midnight  sky  on  a  starry  night,  resplendent 
with  the  jewels  that  stud  the  firmament.  America 
may  well  be  proud  of  the  work  done  by  her  Catholic 
sons  and  daughters.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
century,  these  now  established  institutions  existe  I 
onlv  in  the  fertile  brains  and  daring  hearts  of  their 

(9) 


10     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

great  originators.  One  of  the  noblest  names  in  the 
galaxy  is  the  name  of  Mary  Monholland,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch. 

She  was  born  in  the  County  Armagh,  north  of 
Ireland,  about  the  year  1816,  and  was  among  the 
youthful  emigrants,  whose  relatives  were  obliged  to 
flee  from  the  land  of  their  birth,  for  loving  it  too 
well.  Her  parents,  Patrick  and  Mary  Monholland, 
the  former,  an  ardent  nationalist  under  government 
espionage,  the  latter,  a  passionate  lover  of  the  Green 
Isle  who  could  not  exist  elsewhere,  had  long  foreseen 
that  they  must  abandon  the  home  of  their  fore- 
fathers, in  order  to  make  provision  for  their  children. 

Beautiful,  fertile,  unhappy  Ireland!  that  affords 
pasturage  to  the  cattle-herds  of  the  rich  aliens  who 
claim  the  soil;  while  her  own  sons  and  daughters 
may  not  receive  nourishment  from  her  teeming 
bosom,  in  this  boasted  era  of  civilization!  Will  the 
great  wrong  ever  be  righted?  A  weary  home- 
sickness, in  advance,  broke  Mrs.  Monholland's  heart. 
She  sickened  and  died,  before  her  husband  sailed 
from  Ireland,  leaving  him  besides  little  Mary,  three 
sons — Charles,  Bernard  and  John — all  long  since 
deceased.  Their  graves  are  still  to  be  seen  in 
Calvary  Cemetery,  New  York. 

It  was  one  of  Mary  Monholland's  life-sorrows, 
that  she  met  her  brother,  John,  long  years  after- 
wards, wandering  aimlessly  through  the  city  of 
Chicago,  and  spoke  to  him,  without  recognition  on 


MAltY    MOXHOLLAND  LEAVING  IRELAND.  11 

cither  side,  when  he  returned  from  the  war.  in  L865, 
worn-out,  and  foot-sore,  wending  his  way  back  to 
New  York,  where  he  left  home  and  friends,  as  he  told 
her,  four  short  years  before,  to  return  to  them  now, 
a  wreck  of  his  former  self. 

He  asked  to  stay  in  the  hospital  for  a  short  time. 
It  was  over-crowded;  she  was  obliged  to  refuse  him. 
His  words  rang  in  her  ears,  his  face  haunted  her — 
after  he  was  gone — she  remembered  him  then,  or 
thought  she  did.  "  It  is  either  a  case  i  f  mistaken 
identity,  which  I  cannot  bring  myself  to  believe;  or 
John  is  dying,  and  has  visited  me  in  the  flesh  before 
departing,"  she  said  to  a  Sister  to  whom  she  related 
the  occurrence,  "  and  I  did  not  give  him  the  help  I 
would  have  given  to  another." 

Whether  the  visit  was  natural  or  supernatural,  she 
always  believed  in  its  realism,  and  wept  in  secret  for 
her  soldier  brother.  Patrick  Monholland  did  not 
dream  that  his  winsome  daughter,  revelling  in  girlish 
glee  as  the  sea-foam  of  the  Atlantic  enveloped  her, 
would  become  a  burning  and  a  shining  light  in  the 
land  of  his  adoption,  free  America! — the  land  Colum- 
bus greeted  with  the  chants  of  the  "  Te  Deum,"  and 
the  i;  Salve  Regina  " — planting  the  cross  in  its  soil 
when  his  foot  first  pressed  it. 

Mary  Monholland's  Celtic  fire  never  flagged  from 
the  emigration  morning  on  which  she  bade  adieu  to 
Erin,  until  the  day  of  her  death.  She  was  like  the 
sea-bird  that  flies  on  untiring  wing  from  continent  to 


12     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

continent.  A  few  years  after  his  arrival  in  New 
York,  Mr.  Monholland  was  the  prosperous  owner  of 
a  wholesale  grocery  on  Gouverneur  Street,  where  he 
won  for  himself  a  high  name  for  probity  in  trade. 

He  married  a  second  time,  but  as  his  wife  was  not 
strong,  the  management  of  the  household  devolved 
upon  Mary.  The  little  ones,  for  whom  she  cared 
with  almost  maternal  tenderness,  were  her  special 
charge.  She  developed  an  unusual  talent  for  business, 
also,  of  which  her  father  availed  himself  by  leaving 
mercantile  affairs  in  her  hands  during  his  occasional 
absences.  Her  business  methods  were  acquired  in  a 
peculiar  institute,  the  private  academy  kept  by  Pat- 
rick Casserly  and  wife,  in  a  down-town  New  York 
locality,  where  brains  were  cultivated,  and  delin- 
quencies punished,  in  the  manner  of  the  old-time 
schools  in  Ireland,  before  Catholic  Emancipation  was 
wrung  from  the  British  Parliament. 

Mr.  Casserly  rarely  overlooked  an  error  in  accounts 
— ledgers  and  day-books  were  his  specialty.  Mary 
Monholland  blundered  once,  and  was  punished  by 
being  made  to  hold  out  her  hand  for  the  indignity 
of  caning.  "I  attended  to  book-keeping  better  after 
that,"  she  said,  relating  the  fact  to  a  sister  in  Chicago. 
"  But  I  would  not  let  him  see  I  felt  the  blow." 

Hon.  Eugene  Casserly,  later  on,  United  States 
Senator  for  California,  attended  the  school  when 
Mary  Monholland  did,  and  submitted  like  her,  to  his 
father's   iron    rule,    who    was,    notwithstanding  his 


MARY    MONHOLLAND    LEAVING    IRELAND.  13 

peculiar  discipline,  a  chivalrous  Irish  gentleman. 
Art,  being  considered  a  non-essential,  was  not  taught 
in  Mr.  Casserly's  establishment,  which  may  acoounl 
for  the  following  incident,  told  by  Mary  Monholland 
herself. 

Noticing  one  day  an  itinerant  vender  of  images, 
carrying  his  wares  upon  his  head,  passing  the  store, 
she  called  him  in  to  buy  a  Saint  Patrick,  two  angels 
aud  a  Madonna,  not  easily  recognizable  as  such.  All 
were  painted  in  rainbow  hues,  regardless  of  etfect. 
Their  cheapness  was  a  capital  point,  as  she  thought 
the  paint  alone  was  worth  the  money.  The  group 
was  placed  on  the  parlor  mantle,  to  surprise  her 
father. 

••  Who  put  these  things  here?"  he  asked,  peering 
at  them  over  his  spectacles,  when  he  entered  in  the 
evening,  (things  thought  Mary.) 

"I  did,  father.     Are  not  they  beautiful?" 

"  They  are  vulgar  daubs,  Mary.  You  haven't  a 
particle  of  taste.  Take  them  down.  They  can't  be 
in  the  parlor,  any  way." 

"Why,  Father,"  she  said  in  beseeching  tones, 
"  they  are  St,  Patrick,  two  angels,  and  a  Blessed 
Virgin.     Can't  you  see?     Please  let  them  stay." 

"  Down  they  come  who  ever  they  are.  You  don't 
know  how  ridiculous  they  look,"  he  replied,  smiling 
in  spite  of  himself,  but  guiltless  of  irreverence. 

Mary  folded  her  arms  in  a  slightly  aggrieved 
attitude,  to  contemplate  her  art  treasures;  deliberat- 


14      LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

ing  whether  to  take  them  down,  or  knock  them  down, 
if  that  was  the  impression  they  produced.  But 
finally,  did  as  she  was  bidden,  carried  them  to  her 
room,  and  recited  novena  after  no  vena  before  them 
for  particular  intentions. 

In  the  discharge  of  duty,  Mary  Monholland  was 
singularly  conscientious,  as  was  evidenced  in  the 
management  of  her  father's  second  family.  She 
learned  then  to  successfully  govern  others,  which 
was  to  be  her  lot  in  after  life — and  splendidly  did 
she  fulfill  it.  The  slightest  wish  expressed  by  her 
father,  was  regarded  by  her  as  a  command.  Know- 
ing this,  and  understanding  her  character,  he  used  to 
say:  "Mary,  whoever  obeys  well,  will  be  well 
obeyed.     Your  life  is  before  you.     Look  to  it." 

The  great  financial  crisis  of  New  York,  away  back 
in  the  forties,  occurred  when  Mary  Monholland  was 
mature  enough  to  understand  its  disastrous  conse- 
quences. Many  rich  merchants,  with  whom  her 
father  transacted  business,  went  down  in  the  crash. 
The  hard-earned  gains  of  a  life-time  were  lost  in  a 
moment.  Mr.  Monholland,  himself  on  the  verge  of 
ruin,  was  only  saved  by  prudent  foresight. 

This  set  Mary  to  seriously  considering  whether  a 
life  spent  solely  in  the  pursuit  of  wealth,  was  worth 
living.  And  the  answer  in  her  heart  was:  'No, 
Mammon  is  a  fickle  master."  Her  resolution  to  be- 
come a  religious,  was  then  irrevocably  taken,  and 
no    reflux    of    the  tide  of  fortune  could  weaken  it. 


MAKV    MONHOLLAND     LEAVING    IRELAND.  15 

Nevertheless,  she  knew  that  in  a  religious  community 
is  to  be  found  a  wide  diversity  <>f  characters — culture 
and  refinement  in  some,  lack  of  culture  and  refine- 
ment in  others.  She  knew  that  great  mutual  for- 
bearance must  be  practiced,  that  the  struggle  between 
nature  and  grace  must  be  constantly  carried  on;  that 
she  was  leading  a  good  christian  life  as  she  was,  with 
her  own  family,  not  with  strangers;  yet,  after  think- 
ing it  all  over,  she  said:  "I  will  serve  God,  not 
Mammon." 

While  she  remained  with  her  father,  he  was  con- 
tented; but  she  yearned  for  something  higher  than 
commercial  knowledge.  Her  aspirations  for  religious 
life  were  bitterly  opposed  by  her  father,  devout 
Catholic  though  he  was.  ,"  Would  you  leave  me 
alone  with  an  iuvalid  wife,  and  a  family  of  young 
children  to  care  for?''  he  asked  one  day,  when  Mary, 
with  more  earnestness  than  usual,  implored  his  per- 
mission to  enter  the  Order  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 
founded  by  Elizabeth  Seton,  of  holy  memory,  then 
a  flourishing  conimuuity  in  New  York. 

The  appeal  was  made  to  an  affectionate,  but  deter- 
mined heart.  "No,  Father,"  she  answered,  "if  you 
think  my  services  still  indispensable.  I  will  not  leave 
you  yet.  But  God  will  hear  my  prayer  sooner  or 
later.  It  is  only  a  question  of  time.  When  it  comes, 
be  prepared  for  it.  I  can  never  be  happy  out  of  a 
convent." 

She  raised  her  eyes  to  his,  and  that  look  convinced 


16     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

him  of  her  earnestness.  However,  hoping  against 
hope,  to  prevail,  he  made  no  reply,  and  thus  the 
matter  rested  during  the  fairest  part  of  her  youth. 
Proposals  of  marriage  were  made  to  her,  by  more 
than  one  prominent  merchant  of  New  York,  which 
she  summarily  rejected.  Nothing  could  turn  her 
from  her  purpose. 

The  mental  strain  she  endured  for  years,  in  op- 
position to  the  ardent  desire  of  her  heart,  predisposed 
her  for  an  attack  of  erysipelas.  Her  life  was  des- 
paired of.  Medical  skill  in  those  days,  had  not  ac- 
quired the  scientific  precision  at  present  claimed  for 
it.  The  knife,  and  the  leech,  were  more  generally 
used  than  now.  A  New  York  surgeon,  with  one 
sweep  of  his  lance,  laid  bare  the  bone  of  her  leg — 
where  the  disease  had  settled — from  knee  to  ankle, 
when  inflammation  was  at  the  highest,  causing  her 
the  most  inconceivable  pain. 

The  bone  had  subsequently  to  be  removed,  and 
when,  after  months  of  agony,  a  second  formation  of 
bone  was  perfected,  that  leg  was  perceptibly  shorter 
than  the  other.  Brave  Mary  Monholland  bore  the 
first  shock  of  the  deformity  in  a  christian  spirit,  by 
degrees  became  accustomed  to  it,  and  eventually, 
only  a  close  observer  could  discern  it.  Her  deter- 
mination to  become  a  religious  was  not  weakened, 
although  she  realized  that  this  might  be  an  impedi- 
ment. 

Other  members  of  the  family  were  old  enough  to 


MARY    MONHOLLAND     LEAVING    [BELAND.  17 

take  her  place,  and  she  Cell  she  could  conscientiously 
give  them  an  opportunity   to  do  so.     Her  father  was 

the  stumbling  block  in  her  way.  However,  having 
recovered  from  her  illness,  and  being  thirty  yens  of 
age,  she  told  him  she  would  enter  a  convent  now. 
with,  or  without,  his  consent.  If  she  waited  longer, 
she  feared  she  would  not  be  accepted. 

Mr.  Monholland's  affect  ion  for  Ins  daughter  was 
genuine,  although,  perhaps,  a  little  selfish.  Not  one 
of  his  sons  could  transact  business  as  she  did.  Sat- 
isfied with  her  management,  he  had  not  urged  them 
to  try;  so,  if  she  left,  it  would  be  like  beginning  over 
again.  He  did  not  conceal  this  from  her;  nor  that 
she  would  be  a  loss  to  him  financially';  but  knowing 
her  determination,  saw  that  he  must  let  her  go. 

••Very  well.  Mary,"  he  said,  ''since  you  are  re- 
solved to  forsake  me,  I  will  oppose  you  no  longer. 
Remember,  however,  that  I  will  not  long  survive  the 
blow  of  our  separation.  Pray  for  me  when  you  are 
gone.  I  will  need  your  prayers."  "Thanks,  dear 
father,  a  thousand  thanks."  Mary  answered.  "I 
never  loved  you  as  well  as  now.  I  am  not  forsaking 
you.  I  am  only  getting  nearer  to  God,  where  prayer 
will  be  more  efficacious  than  any  worldly  service  I 
could  render  you.''  Unshed  tears  choked  her  utter- 
ance; she  said  no  more. 

It  was  cold  comfort  for  her  father,  who  accepted 
it  with  the  best  grace  he  could.  They  parted  soon 
after.     It  has  been  truly  said:    "  He  who  loves  father 


18  LIFE     OF    MOTHER     MAltY    MONHOLLAXD. 

or  mother  better  than  Me,  is  not  worthy  of  Me." 
Mary  Monholland  loved  her  father  devotedly,  but  she 
loved  Jesus  Christ  better,  and  He  accounted  her  love 
— worthy. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  ORDER  OF  MERCY.  A  NEW  YORK  SISTER  OF  CHARITY. 
MARY  MONHOLLAND'S  CHOICE.  GOING  TO  CHICAGO. 
STORM  ON  LAKE  MICHIGAN.  MR.  OGDEN  SAVES  MARY 
MONHOLLAND  FROM  DROWNING. 

TOURING  a  Sunday  afternoon  visit,  when  Sodality 
meeting  was  over,  a  Sister  of  Charity  in  charge 
of  the  New  York  Orphan  Asylum,  to  whom  Mary 
Monholland  was  much  attached,  told  her  of  the  great 
work  the  Order  of  Mercy,  founded  by  Venerable 
Catherine  McAuley,  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  was  doing, 
not  only  in  the  Green  Isle,  but  in  England,  Scotland, 
Australia,  New  Zealand  and  other  countries — work 
that  has  increased  a  thousand-fold  since  then,  in 
every  quarter  of  the  civilized  world. 

"The  Sisters  of  Mercy,  from  Dublin,  have  been  es- 
tablished this  year  of  grace,  1843,  in  Pittsburgh,  by 
Bishop  O'Connor,  Mary,"  she  explained.  "  You  will 
be  surprised  to  hear,  that  Bishop  Quarter,  formerly 
Rev.  William  Quarter,  our  late  pastor,  is  bringing  a 
colony  of  them  to  his  Episcopal  City  of  Chicago  on 
frozen  Lake  Michigan.     God  help  the  Sisters!  be- 

(19) 


20  LIFE    OF    MOTHEE     MARY     MONHOLLAND. 

tween  the  Indians,  and  the  Squatters  who  are  rushing 
out  there  in  thousands  to  starve  on  the  prairies,  they 
will  have  a  hard  time  of  it." 

Dear  Sister  of  Charity!  gone  to  your  reward  while 
caring  for  the  orphans  elsewhere,  your  gloomy  pre- 
diction was  not  fulfilled.  The  Chicago  of  that  day, 
was  the  germ  from  which  the  Chicago  of  this  day 
sprang,  like  a  phoenix  from  its  ashes — the  city  far 
excellence  of  the  North  American  Continent. 

Mary  Monholland  listened  thoughtfully.  If  she 
became  a  Sister  of  Charity  in  New  York,  as  she  first 
intended,  love  for  this  dear  friend  would  have  much 
to  do  with  her  vocation;  perhaps,  would  mar  its  in- 
tegrity. Her  resolve,  therefore,  was  finally  taken. 
She  was  leaving  an  affluent,  happy  home;  leaving 
those  she  loved,  for  His  sake  who  left  His  Virgin 
Mother  to  endure  the  shame  of  the  cross.  She 
would  not  become  a  Sister  of  Charity,  lest  love  for 
this  cherished  daughter  of  Mother  Seton,  would 
lighten  her  cross  one  iota. 

She  would  become  a  Sister  of  Mercy.  She  would 
go  out  to  frozen  Lake  Michigan,  among  the  Indians 
and  Squatters,  to  endure  bitter  hardships,  as  she  had 
been  just  informed,  on  the  prairie.  "Did  you  say 
the  Sisters  of  Mercy  are  going  to  Chicago?"  she 
quietly  asked,  when  the  inspiration  to  become  a 
Sister  of  Mercy  entered  her  mind. 

"  Yes,  dear,  I  said  so,  and  I  am  sorry  for  them," 
answered  the  Sister  of    Charity.     They  are  wanted 


A    NEW    YORK    SISTER    OF    CHARITY.  21 

nearer  home.*'  "  I  am  going,  too,"  said  Mary 
Monholland,  blushing, ami  Looking  up  with  moistened 
eyes. 

"  You,  going  to  Chicago!  I  always  supposed  you 
would  join  our  community.  We  have  known  and 
loved  each  other  many  years;  do  not  let  us  be  parted 
now,"  was  the  slightly  reproachful  reply. 

"  Darling  Sister,  just  because  I  love  you  too  much, 
I  will  leave  you,  I  must  become  the  crucified  spouse 
of  a  crucified  God,  and  the  crucifixion  begins  here." 
That  ended  the  matter.  They  kissed  each  other  in 
silence,  and  parted    until   the  Resurrection  morning. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  two  Sisters  of  Mercy  were 
sent  from  Chicago,  to  Washington,  D.  C,  by  Rev. 
Mother  Francis,  formerly  Mary  Monholland,  on 
business  connected  with  the  War  Department;  one 
of  whom  was  charged  to  give  greetings  from  Mother 
Francis  to  this  Sister  of  Charity,  then  in  charge  of 
the  Washington  Orphan  Asylum,  who  would  doubt- 
less remember  her  early  friend. 

"You  come  too  late,"  the  portress  said  when  they 
called  to  explain  their  errand.  "  Our  dear  Superior 
is  dying."  The  tolling  of  the  death-bell,  at  the 
moment,  confirmed  her  words.  It  was  ever  thus  with 
Mother  Francis — death,  and  broken  heart — links: 
detaching  her  heart  from  earth,  to  centre  it  in  heaven. 
She  had  a  requiem  mass  said  for  the  dead  Sister. 
Mary  Monholland  wrote  immediately  to  Bishop 
Quarter,  asking  him  to  procure  her  admission  to  the 


22     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND  = 

Convent  of  Mercy  in  Chicago;  and  he,  who  had  been 
her  confessor  for  years,  knowing  her  worth,  answered 
simply:  " Come,  Mary,  in  God's  Name.  The  Sisters 
will  receive  you." 

Archbishop  Hughes,  her  father's  friend,  gave  her 
a  letter  of  introduction,  with  which  she  started  at 
once  for  the  West,  accompanied  by  two  sodality 
girls,  trained  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  who  sub- 
sequently became  edifying  lay  Sisters.  In  their 
position,  with  which  they  were  content,  they  labored 
faithfully  in  the  service  of  the  Institute  that  accepted 
them.  They  were  aunts,  on  the  maternal  side,  of 
Kt.  Rev.  J.  F.  Shanahan,  first  Bishop  of  Harrisbnrg, 
Pennsylvania,  who'  esteemed  them  for  their  sterling 
worth ;  and  loved  them  none  the  less  when  he  learned 
they  were  lay  sisters. 

In  1846,  when  Mary  Monholland  left  New  York, 
railroad  travel  was  not  direct  to  the  West,  from 
central  points  East,  as  now;  therefore,  part  of  the 
journey  was  made  by  boats  across  the  Great  Lakes. 
As  they  neared  the  western  shore  of  Lake  Michigan, 
the  darkening  sky  indicated  an  approaching  storm. 
The  voyagers  became  alarmed,  knowing  that  distasters 
on  the  Lakes  were  of  frequent  occurrence — the  five 
great  bodies  of  water  resemble  inland  seas.  Fierce 
north  winds  often  lash  the  mirrored  bosom  of  this 
splendid  Lake  into  fury,  and  strew  its  coasts  with 
wreckage.  It  was  on  Lake  Michigan,  within  sight 
of  Chicago,  that  the  beautiful    steamer,    "  The  Lady 


A    NEW    YORK    SISTER    OF    CHARITY.  23 

Elgin,"  went  down,  burying  three  hundred  pass- 
engers  in  its  silenl  depths,  in  the  glow  of  a  Bummer 
sun-set. 

In  a  moment  the  storm  was  upon  them,  roaring 
and  terrific.  Lightning  flashed,  thunder  rolled,  rain 
fell  in  torrents;  while  the  vessel  vainly  ploughed  its 
way  to  shore.  Milwaukee  was  in  full  view,  but  could 
not  be  reached.  A  huge  wave  swept  over  the  deck, 
carrying  men,  women,  and  children  down  into  the 
seething  waters — Mary  Monholland  among  the  rest. 
Shriek  after  shriek  went  up  to  heaven.  Some  waded 
to  the  shore.  A  few  perished.  The  greater  number, 
struggling  in  the  water,  tried  to  keep  close  to  the 
boat  to  seize  the  ropes  thrown  to  them, 

The  citizens  of  Milwaukee  labored  heroically  to 
save  the  drowning  people.  One  gentleman,  W.  B. 
Ogden,  Chicago's  first  Mayor,  and  future  railroad 
King,  who  witnessed  the  catastrophe,  hearing  a 
woman  call  to  the  rescuers:  "  Save  my  companions — 
leave  me  to  my  fate,"  cast  off  his  coat,  plunged  into 
the  Lake,  and  seized  Mary  Monholland,  whose 
strength  was  fast  giving  out. 

"  I  will  save  you,  brave  woman,"  he  said,  raising 
heron  his  shoulders,  and  carrying  her  safely  to  land, 
where  he  received  her  thanks  and  a  blessing,  she  had 
scarcely  the  power  to  speak. 

"Never  mind  thanking,  I  have  only  done  my  duty. 
The  blessing  may  be  a  safer  investment,"  he  re- 
marked lightly.     Perhaps,  that  blessing  was  a  step- 


24     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

ping  stone  by  which  he  ascended  the  ladder  of 
fortune,  a  large  part  of  which  he  devoted  to  charit- 
able purposes.  Among  other  gifts,  Mr.  Ogden  gave 
Bishop  Quarter  a  large  tract  of  land  on  the  north 
side  of  Chicago,  to  use  as  he  pleased.  The  Bishop 
intended  to  build  a  fine  Convent  there  for  the  Sisters 
of  Mercy.  His  sudden  demise,  however,  preventing 
his  plan  from  being  carried  out,  the  Holy  Name 
Church  was  erected  on  it  afterward. 


CHAPTER  III. 


ENTERING  THE  CONVENT.  BISHOP  QUAETEB  S  PALACE. 
MOTHER  FRANCIS  AS  PHYSICIAN.  GUARDING  ST. 
XAVIEKS.       REV.  FATHER  BADIN.      GOVERNING  PUPILS. 

AFTER  the  disaster  on  the  Lake,  Mary  Monholland 
-  took  a  few  hours  to  dry  her  saturated  clothing, 
and  the  same  day  hired  a  vehicle  to  convey  herself 
and  her  companions  to  Chicago;  where  they  arrived 
at  last,  minus  some  of  their  property.  Mary  Mon- 
holland's  heart  of  gold,  however,  was  more  than  an 
equivalent  for  the  losses,  which  were  considerable  on 
account  of  the  storm.  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Quarter,  and 
Rev.  Mother  Agatha  O'Brien,  received  them  cordially, 
as  the  convent  was  sorely  in  need  of  subjects;  and 
like  most  new  foundations  of  the  Order  of  Mercy, 
had  more  work  for  the  few  Sisters  who  formed  the 
colony  than  they  wen-  able  to  do.  The  house  was 
small,  far  from  comfortable,  unfit  for  a  school. 
Bishop  Quarter  found  a  remedy  by  vacating  the  frame 
tenement  in  which  he  resided,  to  place  it  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  Sisters:  reserving  for  himself  an  old 
"shanty"    on   State   st.,   which  "shanty  "  was  for  a 

(25) 


26      LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MAEY  MONHOLLAND. 

considerable  period  of  time  known  as  the  Episcopal 
dwelling-place  of  the  Bishop  of  Chicago. 

Bishop  Quarter,  Mother  Francis  friend,  was  re- 
markable for  his  zeal,  as  much  as  for  his  humility. 
He  had  chosen  America  for  the  scene  of  his  priestly 
labors.  Dr.  Doyle,  his  saintly  Bishop  in  Ireland, 
would  gladly  have  retained  him  in  his  diocese;  but 
finding  him  inflexible  in  his  resolution  to  labor  on 
the  American  missions,  consented  to  his  departure. 
It  is  said,  that  Bishop  Quarter  was  instrumental  in 
introducing  the  Sisters  of  Charity  into  New  York, 
after  he  became  a  priest  of  that  great  metropolitan 
province. 

His  pious  parents  in  King's  County,  Ireland,  had 
heard  of  their  son's  elevation  to  the  American  pre- 
lacy. Naturally,  they  were  proud  of  him.  They 
did  not  know  that  his  episcopal  palace  was  a  "  shanty," 
where  he  lived  happily — a  father  to  his  people,  and 
as  earnestly  devoted  to  the  interests  of  God's  Church, 
as  he  who  sat  upon  the  chair  of  St.  Peter.  Bishop 
Quarter,  and  the  Sisters  were  greatly  pleased  with 
the  New  York  postulant — six  months  later,  Sister 
Mary  Francis  de  Sales — who  became  a  model  of 
religious  observance,  cautiously  charitable  in  her 
words,  a  scrupulous  observer  of  silence,  indefatigable 
in  the  discharge  of  her  duties.  This  mature  woman 
of  thirty,  having  attained  the  object  of  her  desires, 
was  looked  up  to  by  the  whole  community. 

Few  doctors  were  then  in    Chicago;  so   with  Rev. 


ENTERING    THE    CONVENT  27 

Mother's  permission,  she  constituted  herself  both 
Burgeon  and  physician;  stocking  a  medicine  chest 
with  such  drugs  as  an  unlicensed  pharmacist  might 
safely  dispense,  for  the  special  use  of  the  Sisters  and 
boarders.  She  kept,  also,  a  few  surgical  instruments 
— not  infringing  on  the  domain  of  science — for  ex- 
tracting teeth,  which  she  did  skillfully;  removing 
corns:  cutting  proud  flesh  from  frozen  feet,  which 
was  done  more  than  once;  splinting,  and  otherwise 
keeping  in  place,  frozen  fingers  and  toes. 

Her  simple  operations  were  generally  successful, 
although,  perhaps,  not  quite  agreeable  in  their 
details;  and  hundreds  of  dollars  were  saved  to  the 
community  by  her  knowledge  of  the  healing  art, 
when  money  was  most  needed.  In  the  course  of 
time,  she  discontinued  both  pharmacy  and  surgery, 
having  other  work  to  do.  Many  eminent  medical 
gentlemen  soon  located  in  Chicago,  among  them, 
Dr.  Patrick  McGirr,  the  father  of  two  of  the  Found- 
resses of  the  Chicago  Community  Mothers,  M.  Vin- 
cent, and  M.  Xavier  McGirr.  He  was  a  true  friend 
to  the  Sisters  of  Mercy, 

Bishop  Quarter  was  temporarily  assisted  by  Rev. 
Father  Badin,  one  of  the  great  pioneer  priests  of  the 
West,  when  Sister  M.  Francis  was  received  as  a  no- 
vice. He  acted  as  chaplain  at  the  convent,  also,  and 
took  much  interest  in  the  schools — visiting  them 
daily.  Sister  M.  Francis  superiority  as  a  teacher 
did  not  escape  his   observation.       In  her  class-room, 


28     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MAEY  MONHOLLAND. 

silence  always  reigned,  except  during  recitation  of 
lessons.  The  pupils  faces  were  bright  and  happy. 
Father  Badin  was  surprised  at  their  knowledge  of 
mathematics  and  book-keeping,  in  which  branches 
their  teacher  was  an  expert.  She  governed  her 
pupils  with  firmness,  softened  by  kindness.  They 
never  forgot  her. 

The  good  Father  remarked  to  other  Sisters  who 
had  not  her  governing  talent,  that  they  might  profit- 
ably follow  her  methods  in  sustaining  the  standard 
of  the  schools.  Few  religious  teachers  were  com- 
parable to  Sister  Mary  Francis  in  Father  Badin's 
eyes,  yet  she  once  gave  him  offense  in  a  matter  of 
discourtesy.  When  Eev.  Mother  reproved  her  for 
it,  cautioning  her  to  curb  her  impulsiveness,  she  saw 
her,  until  then,  unnoticed  fault,  made  an  humble 
apology  to'  Rev.  Mother,  and  the  priest,  formed  a 
strong  resolution  to  curb  her  feelings,  and  kept  it. 
During  her  novitiate,  which  was  shortened  by  dis- 
pensation, she  acquired  extraordinary  habits  of  self- 
control. 

Sister  M.  Francis  had  the  knack  of  doing  every- 
thing in  time  and  place,  therefore,  accomplished 
more  than  others  who  were  not  so  systematic.  Father 
Badin  noticed  this  when  she  served  breakfast  to  him 
during  his  chaplaincy.  "  You,  little  Sister  Mary."  he 
said,  "  do  not  forget  to  bring  me  a  knife,  fork,  spoon, 
or  salt,  as  the  other  Sisters  do,  when  their  heads  are 
full  of  algebra,  and  things.     God  bless  you.      Take 


ENTEEING    THE    CONVENT.  '21) 

good  care  of  the  Sisters  when  you  are  their  mother. 
I  predict  that  for  you,  remember."  His  prediction 
was  verified,  and  she    took  good  care  of    the  Sisters. 

Neither  did  her  methodical  ways  escape  the  obser- 
vation of  her  superiors.  Other  Sisters,  more  highly 
cultured,  swept  the  school-rooms  in  which  they 
taught,  brought  in  fuel,  carried  out  ashes — forgot 
kindling-wood  to  start  the  fires,  once  in  a  while. 
Sister  M.  Francis,  noticing  this,  went  to  the  Superior, 
to  say:  "  Please,  Rev.  Mother,  may  I  bring  kindling- 
wood  to  the  school-rooms,  over-night.  The  Sisters 
are  not  used  to  hard  work,  as  I  am." 

"You  may,  Sister,"  answered  Rev.  Mother,  who 
did  not  know  of  the  disorder  occasioned  by  the  over- 
sight. And  from  that  day,  until  she  passed  to  her 
eternal  reward,  Sister  M.  Francis  "  was  a  hewer  of 
wood,  and  drawer  of  water"  for  her  community.  No 
labor  was  beneath  her.  She  did  not  perform  menial 
service  in  her  father's  house;  she  did  it  cheerfully 
in  the  house  of  God. 

Chicago  was  then  a  frontier  town,  where  people  of 
all  grades  of  society  sought  homes  and  fortunes,  east- 
ern bigots  among  the  rest.  "  There  shall  be  neither 
Sisters  nor  convents  here.  Chicago  can  get  along 
without  them,"  was  the  unanimous  vote  of  a  select 
assembly  of  Massachusetts  folks,  whose  ancestors 
had  heroically  burned  witches  and  routed  sisterhoods, 
when  the  opening  of  the  convent  was  announced. 

"There  shall  be  both    Sisters   and  convents  here," 


30     LIFE  CF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

was  the  counter- vote  at  a  meeting  of  Irish,  and  Irish- 
American  Catholics,  when  the  threat  reached  them: 
and  relays  of  men  were  detailed,  forthwith,  to  guard 
the  Convent  of  Mercy — next  St.  Mary's  Church,  on 
Wabash  Avenue — by  night,  lest  the  Sisters  should 
be  molested.  No  one  attempted  to  annoy  the  Sisters 
while  these  men  were  on  guard.  No  one  ever  at- 
tempted to  annoy  them  after.  The  Bigots  were 
practically  silenced. 

But  there  was  another,  and  a  gentler  spirit  at  work 
to  remove  prejudices.  Mother  Francis,  as  she  was 
called  from  the  third  or  fourth  year  of  her  profession, 
made  such  a  favorable  impression  on  the  minds  of 
non-catholics,  whether  in  the  schools,  or  in  the  trans- 
action of  business,  that  the  folly  of  religious  intol- 
erance became  evident  to  most  of  them.  The  bigotry 
manifested  in  the  beginning,  melted  away.  Their 
daughters  attended  the  convent  school,  learned  to 
love  the  Sisters,  became  accomplished  members  of 
•society,  and  submitted  to  Mother  Francis'  strict  dis- 
cipline, even  when  feeling  its  effects. 

Once,  a  young  lady  in  the  mathematical  depart- 
ment taught  by  her,  chose  to  rebel.  She  declared 
she  could  not  understand  certain  problems  as  ex- 
plained by  Mother  Francis — was  not  going  to  try — 
that  more  favored  pupils  were  assisted  in  their 
studies,  and  could  show  better  results.  The  more 
favored  pupils  were  present,  and  were  named  offen- 
sively. The  young  lady  was  in  an  offended-dignity 
mood. 


ENTERING  THE  CONVENT.  81 

"  You  must  apologize  for  your  language,  my  child. 
both  to  uie,  and  to  the  pupils  whose  feelings  you 
have  hurt.''  Mother  Francis  said  firmly,  concealing 
her  surprise.  "Never,"  was  the  proud  reply,  as  the 
excited  girl  swept  out  of  the  room.  "  Apologize, 
indeed!" 

Next  morning,  nevertheless,  she  was  in  her  place 
as  usual.  Mother  Francis  showed  no  resentment, 
only  affected  not  to  see,  and  taught  the  class  as  it' 
nothing  had  occurred.  At  noon,  she  came  of  her  own 
accord  to  Mother  Francis.  "Dear  Mother,"  she 
said,  bursting  into  tears,  "I  am  sorry  for  my  rude- 
ness. Please  forgive  me,  and  I  will  cause  no  more 
trouble,  either  to  you,  or  to  the  pupils,  whose  pardon 
I  also  ask." 

Mother  Francis,  in  her  impulsive  way,  kissed  the 
repentant  girl,  who  received  only  this  reproof:  "  Re- 
member, dear,  that  a  humble  apology,  such  as  you 
have  just  now  made,  is  a  victory  as  well — a  victory 
over  the  demon  of  pride,  for  which  God  will  not  fail 
to  reward  yon,"  and  then  and  there,  a  friendship 
sprang  up  between  teacher  and  pupil,  that  did  not 
cool  with  years. 

When  Mrs.  Colonel  Mulligan,  who  had  been  a 
student  at  St.  Xavier's,  and  a  favorite  of  Mother 
Francis,  first  returned  from  Missouri  with  her  gallant 
husband,  she  accompanied  him  to  St.  Xavier's  to  get 
scapulars  and  an  Immaculate  Conception  medal  from 
her  old  teacher,  which    he    wore    during  the    subse- 


32     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

quent  skirmishes  in  which  he  was  engaged.  He 
asked  and  received  Mother  Francis'  blessing,  also, 
before  starting  for  Lexington,  of  which  he  was  the 
hero,  even  in  the  defeat  of  the  famous  "  Surrender." 
When  he  was  brought  back  dead  to  Chicago  by  his 
faithful  wife,  who  followed  him  to  Winchester,  Vir- 
ginia, in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  where  he  received 
his  death-blow,  she  took  his  orphan  children — the 
orphans  of  a  brave  soldier — to  receive  the  same 
blessing.  The  requiem  mass  for  the  repose  of 
Colonel  Mulligan's  soul,  was  one  of  the  most  impres- 
sive services  ever  held  in  St.  Mary's  Church;  and 
was  attended  by  all  the  civic,  military  and  religious 
organizations  of  the  city. 

During  the  first  decade  of  convent  life,  several 
Sisters  died;  some  of  whom  were  efficient  and  ac- 
complished teachers,  whose  places  could  not  easily  be 
filled,  as  vocations  for  the  West  were  few  and  far 
between  at  that  early  period.  The  scant  accommod- 
ations the  convent  afforded,  the  piercing  frosts  in- 
tensified by  the  lake  breezes,  the  long  distances  to 
be  traversed  through  snow-drifts  to  the  schools  on 
the  north  and  west  sides  of  the  city,  told  heavily  on 
the  Sisters'  health.  There  were  not  members  enough 
for  the  work. 

Rev.  Mother  Agatha  becoming  discouraged, 
thought  seriously  of  returning  to  Pittsburgh.  Mother 
M.  Vincent  McGirr,  also  from  Pittsburgh,  decided 
to   remain,    and    await   better  times=     Being  an  ex- 


ENTERING    THE    CONVENT.  33 

cellent  musician,  her  services  were  indispensable.  It 
was  a  trying  time  for  all,  and  even  in  convents  there 

are  those  who  cannot  bear  the  brunt  of  trials,  or  diffi- 
culties. Mother  Francis  saw  it.  To  relieve  Rev. 
Mother's  anxiety — to  whom  she  was  devotedly  at- 
tached, and  by  whom  she  was  greatly  beloved — she 
did  the  work  of  many,  never  complained  of  labor,  was 
a  pillar  of  support  to  the  disheartened  Sisters.  In 
the  midst  of  the  gloom,  she  spoke  hopefully,  amusing 
them  with  her  quaint  sayings.  "  Put  your  shoulder 
to  the  wheel,  and  the  work  is  done,"  "Don't  fret 
about  the  future,  you  will  sleep  half  of  it  away," 
"This  is  a  winter  view  of  things,  the  summer  has  to 
come,"  were  anions?  them. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


DEATH  OF  RT.  EEV.  BISHOP  QUARTER.  .  REV.  MOTHER 
AGATHA  O'BRIEN  RETURNS  TO  PITTSBURGH.  SHE 
COMES  BACK  TO  CHICAGO.  THE  SISTERS  OF  MERCY 
GO  TO  OMAHA.  LAKE  HOUSE  HOTEL,  THE  FIRST 
MERCY    HOSPITAL.       THE    ORPHANAGE. 

/^VNE  morning  in  the  Spring  of  1848,  just  four  years 
^S  and  a  month  since  he  first  sat  on  the  Episcopal 
throne,  Rt.  Rev.  William  Quarter  was  found  dead  in 
his  bed.  Chicago  was  startled  to  its  centre.  Its  first 
beloved  Bishop  was  no  more.  He  was  singularly 
reverenced  by  both  the  clergy  and  laity;  and,  if  pos- 
sible, as  much  by  Protestants  as  by  Catholics.  A 
suspicion  of  foul  play  entered  the  minds  of  some; 
but  as  the  circumstances  attending  his  death,  did  not 
warrant  the  suspicion,  it  was  dismissed  as  groundless. 
During  his  brief  administration,  he  ordained  about 
thirty  priests  who  revered  his  memory  to  their  dying 
day;  governed  the  college  with  such  ability,  that  it 
attained  an  eminence  it  could  not  have  otherwise  at- 
tained in  many  years;  and  left  his  diocese  free  of 
incumbrance.     It  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  take  the 

(34) 


DEATH    OF    RT.    BEV      BISHOP    QUARTER.    .         35 

^ 

place  of  such  a  man,  as  his  immediate  successors  ex- 
perienced. Bishop  Quarter  was  buried  under  the 
altar  of  the  Cathedral  he  had  conscerated,  mourned 

for  by  the  entire  city  and  diocese.  In.  1871,  when 
the  Cathedral  was  destroyed  by  fire,  his  hallowed  re- 
mains were  removed  to  Calvary  Cemetery. 

The  Sisters  of  Mercy  felt  his  loss  more  keenly 
than  others.  He  had  been  to  them  more  than  an 
earthly  father.  They  were  the  spiritual  children  of 
his  choice.  He  made  no  will;  but  his  intention  to 
provide  generously  for  the  Sisters,  was  known  to  his 
brother.  Rev.  William  Quarter,  who,  as  diocesan  ad- 
ministrator carried  it  into  effect.  Mother  Francis, 
shocked  as  she  was  by  his  death,  was  stimulated  by 
it  to  continue  what  he  had  begun — the  work  of  the 
Convent  of  Mercy. 

To  stifle  grief,  she  scrubbed  on  her  knees  every 
hall  and  stairway  in  the  convent,  while  other  Sisters 
were  draping  the  sanctuary  of  St.  Mary's  Church, 
where  the  dead  prelate  was  to  repose  in  state;  yet  she 
was  his  personal  friend !  Seldom  was  self  so  com- 
pletely forgotten  as  by  her. 

Bishop  Quarter's  death  occurred  at  the  time  when 
he  was  successfully  forming  a  diocesan  priesthood. 
The  Bishops  who  succeeded  him  were  not  so  fortunate, 
as  some  of  the  more  prominent  priests  left  Chicago 
after  the  death  of  Bishop  Quarter.  The  University 
of  St.  Mary  of  the  Lake  experienced  a  temporary  lull 
in  its  career  of  usefulness.     The  number  of  ecclesias- 


36      LIFE  OP  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

tical  students  was  smaller;  the  places  left  vacant  by 
the  departed  pastors,  remained  to  be  filled.  The 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  too,  lost  some  of  their  best  friends, 
in  losing  these  reverend  gentlemen. 

But,  time,  that  cures  all  things,  cured  this.  To- 
day, the  archdiocese  of  Chicago  can  boast  of  hund- 
reds of  priests,  regular  and  secular,  doing  grand 
missionary  work — new  churches,  new  convents,  new 
schools,  new  institutions,  everywhere.  That  the 
clergymen  of  the  archdiocese  esteem  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy  and  their  work,  no  less  now  than  the  clergy 
of  Bishop  Quarter's  time,  is  evidenced  by  the  large 
number  of  schools  they  teach  in  the  city  and 
suburbs. 

When  Rev.  Mother  Agatha,  acting  on  her  former 
impulse,  returned  to  Pittsburgh,  leaving  Mother 
Francis  in  charge,  the  Sisters  missed  the  guidance  of 
their  father.  The  arrangement  did  not  meet  the  ap- 
proval of  some  of  them;  and  was  not  in  accordance 
with  the  views  of  Mother  Francis,  herself.  To  calm 
all  minds,  she  wrote  shortly  after,  to  Bishop  O'Connor, 
of  Pittsburgh,  the  pathetic  words:  "  The  ark  is  in 
danger.  Send  us  back  our  Mother."  He  answered 
like  a  true  friend:  "  Be  at  rest.  She  shall  return." 
And  she  did  return,  restoring  harmony  in  the  com- 
munity, and  releasing  Mother  Francis  from  a  re- 
sponsibility she  in  no  wise  coveted. 

It  is  matter  of  record,  that  Rt.  Rev.  Michael 
O'Connor,  overwhelmed  with  the  pressure  of   bus- 


DEATH    OF     RT.    REV      BISHOP   QUARTER.  37 

iness  connected  with  the  diocese  of  Pittsburgh,  and 
ardently  desiring  a  humbler  position  in  the  Church, 
in  1860,  petitioned  Borne  to  accept  his  resignation, 
which  favor  was  not  soon  granted,  on  account  of  the 
eminent  services  he  had  rendered  to  religion.  When 
it  was  granted,  the  first  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh  became 
a  Jesuit  priest,  though  his  hair  was  white  with  the 
frosts  of  years;  though  he  carried  the  crozier,  till  he 
bent  beneath  its  weight. 

During  one  of  his  missionary  journeys,  he  called 
at  the  Convent  of  Mercy,  Chicago,  to  see  the  Sister 
who  had  implored  him  to  send  back  her  mother. 
••  Who  is  the  superior,  now?"  he  asked  the  portress, 
as  she  dropped  on  her  knees  to  get  his  blessing.  "I 
understand,  Mother  Agatha  is  dead." 

"Mother  Francis  is  Rev.  Mother,"  answered  Sister, 
"  and  a  good  Rev.  Mother  she  is." 

"  Well,  tell  her  that  Father  Michael  O'Connor, 
formerly,  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh,  desires  to  celebrate 
mass,  and  is  anxious  to  catch  the  first  train  for  the 
East,  after."  "Oh,  dear!  are  you  a  Bishop?"  ex- 
claimed Sister  in  surprise.  Isn't  it  a  shame  to  see 
you  carrying  your  valise?     Couldn't  some  one ." 

Her  speech  was  cut  short  by  Mother  Francis,  who, 
in  passing,  overheard  the  conversation,  dismissed 
Sister,  and  showed  the  Bishop  to  the  chapel,  where 
he  promised  to  remember  the  soul  of  Rev.  Mother 
Agatha,  one  of  the  first  Sisters  of  Mercy  professed 
by  him    in   Pittsburgh.     Indeed,    both    before,  and 


38  ,    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MAEY  MONHOLLAND. 

after,  his  resignation,  he  was  a  firm  friend  to  the 
Order  he  introduced  into  the  United  States  in  1843; 
the  first  Convent  of  Mercy  being  opened  by  him  on 
Penn  Street,  Pittsburgh;  the  second,  three  years  later, 
in  Chicago,  by  Bishop  Quarter. 

After  mass,  Mother  Francis  and  he  talked  about 
the  past — its  trials — its  difficulties — its  blessed  por- 
tion of  the  cross — his  reasons  for  resigning  the  epis- 
copacy— his  present  happiness  as  a  humble  son  of 
Ignatius  Loyola.  "You  have  ascended,  while  I  have 
descended,  Mother  Francis,"  he  said.  "But,  what- 
ever ups  and  downs  are  on  the  pathway  of  life,  our 
common  goal  is  Calvary,  after  which  comes  heaven. 
Few  things  have  given  me  more  sincere  pleasure 
than  the  success  of  the  Order  of  Mercy  in  Pittsburgh 
and  Chicago.  Catherine  McAuley's  work  is  taking 
deep  root  in  American  soil.  Nevertheless,  knowing 
that  all  things  human  have  their  ebb  and  flow,  do 
not  be  puffed  up  with  prosperity." 

Mother  Francis  assured  him  truthfully  that  she 
would  not,  but  could  not  induce  him  to  make  use  of 
the  convent  carriage  when  leaving,  as  he  persisted  in 
walking  back  to  the  depot,  again  carrying  his  valise. 
Rt.  Rev.  James  O'Connor,  of  Omaha,  Nebraska,  his 
brother,  took  similar  interest  in  the  Order  of  Mercy 
which  he  found  already  established  in  his  diocese  by 
Rt,  Rev.  James  O'Gorman,  a  Trappist  monk  of 
Mount  Mellory,  Iowa,  who  invited  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy  there  from  Manchester,  New  Hampshire,  in, 
1865. 


DEATH    OF     RT.    REV.    BISHOP    QUARTER.  39 

Apropos  of  this  mission — the  Sisters  who  were 
sent  on  it  by  Mother  Mary  Francis  Warde.  had  great 
difficulty  in  reaching  their  destination.  The  army 
was  disbanding;  railroad  cars  were  crowded  inside 
and  outside;  squads  of  tramps,  a  hitherto  unknown 
factor  of  American  civilization,  were  filling  the 
depots,  intimidating  travelers.  There  was  no  means 
of  transit  for  the  missionary  Sisters,  who  were  de- 
tained in  Chicago  for  several  months. 

St.  Xavier's  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity. 
However,  the  eastern  visitors  received  hospitality. 
Rev!  Mother  Francis  and  other  Sisters  gave  them 
their  cells,  sleeping  on  tables  during  their  stay. 
They  did  not  always  sleep  on  tables,  either,  as  they 
frequently  rolled  off  the  tables  onto  the  floor — sleep- 
ing, nevertheless.  The  Manchester  Sisters,  running 
short  of  funds,  applied  to  the  railroad  officials  for 
passes  to  Omaha,  which  were  refused  to  them,  but 
not  to  Mother  Francis  whose  influence  procured  them. 

Having  received  the  passes,  they  started  for 
Omaha,  without  being  able  to  reach  it.  The  Mis- 
souri River  was  filled  with  boats,  carrying  home 
Union  Soldiers,  with  boats  swarming  with  men  drift- 
ing with  the  tide,  who  had  never  been  soldiers, 
accompanied  by  discharged  nurses,  ablaze  with 
badges,  singing  war-songs.  They  remained  oh  the 
Iowa  side,  at  Council  Bluffs,  for  a  week,  amid  the 
roughest  surroundings,  until  the  river  was  passable; 
then  crossed  over  to  Omaha  at  midnight,  guided  by 


40     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MOXHOLLAND. 

a  policeman  who  brought  them  to  the  foot  of  the 
hill  on  which  the  convent  was  built,  and  there  left 
them. 

Their  troubles  were  ended  when  they  met  Bishop 
O'Gorman,  who  gave  them  a  warm  welcome  to 
Nebraska.  This  holy  Bishop  died  in  1874,  having 
been  their  guide  and  Father  for  nine  years.  He 
was  succeeded  by  as  devoted  a  friend  to  the  order, 
Rt.  Rev.  James  O'Connor,  who  governed  them  six- 
teen years,  dying  in  May,  1890.  When  this  zealous 
prelate  was  suffering  from  the  illness  of  which  he 
died,  he  repaired  to  Mercy  Hospital,  Pittsburgh,  to 
be  cared  for  by  his  brother's  first  spiritual  daugh- 
ters— the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Miss  Catherine  Drexel, 
now  Rev.  Mother  Catherine,  Superior  of  the  Sisters 
of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  who  devote  their  lives  to 
the  service  of  the  Indians  and  Negroes,  was  making 
her  novitiate  in  the  Convent  of  Mercy,  Pittsburgh, 
at  the  time,  and  received  much  light  in  her  arduous 
undertaking  from  the  dying  Bishop,  with  whose 
approbation  she  devoted  her  immense  fortune  to  the 
cause  she  had  so  earnestly  at  heart. 

In  1849,  the  diocese  of  Chicago  received  its 
second  Bishop,  Rt.  Rev.  James  O.  Vandevelde,  during 
the  early  part  of  whose  administration  a  Hospital 
began  to  be  talked  about.  The  year  following,  some 
of  the  leading  medical  men  of  the  city,  organized  a 
Hospital  in  the  Lake  House  Hotel,  on  the  North 
Side,   expecting  that  the  increasing  traffic   on  the 


DEATH    OF     RT,    REV.    BISHOP    QUARTER.  il 

Lakes  would  make  it  a  success.  It  did  not  work. 
They  then  unanimously  agreed  to  ask  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy  to  accept  its  management,  which  they  did; 
and  things  began  to  look  brighter.  The  number  of 
beds  was  doubled;  the  presence  of  the  Sisters  who 
had  not  hitherto  appeared  in  the  crude  western 
Hospitals,  assured  to  the  patients  careful  nursing; 
and  to  the  doctors  a  certainty  that  their  directions 
would  be  faithfully  carried  out.  ''The  Illinois  General 
Hospital  of  the  Lake" — so  named  by  the  Faculty — 
enjoyed  a  gleam  of  prosperity — temporarily. 

It  soon  became  evident  to  the  Sisters  that  the 
Hospital  was  badly  located,  and  they  submitted  their 
views,  among  others,  to  the  Drs.  McGrirr,  father  and 
son,  who  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  institution  when 
it  became  "Mercy  Hospital."  Mother  M.  Vincent 
McGirr,  local  Superior  of  the  Hospital,  was  the 
daughter  of  the  elder  physician,  and  sister  of  the 
younger  one.  Proximity  to  the  Lake  overran  the 
house  with  vermin;  the  smoke  and  noise  of  steam — 
boats,  and  other  undesirable  environments,  irritated 
patients.  There  was  little  rest  to  be  had  in  the 
house;  Mother  M.  Vincent  nearly  lost  her  life  in 
preventing  an  inebriate  from  jumping  from  an  upper 
window  to  drown  himself.  It  was  plain  that  the 
Illinois  General  Hospital  must  be  abandoned. 

After  consulting  with  the  Medical  Faculty,  it  was 
agreed,  that  if  the  Sisters  built  a  Hospital,  they 
would  have  control  of  it,  assisted  by  the  doctors,  who 


42      LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

were  to  form  a  regular  medical  board  in  connection 
with  it.  Mother  Francis  was  appointed  to  select  the 
site  of  the  building,  to  be  known  as  Mercy  Hospital. 
South  Chicago  was  considered  preferable  to  the  North 
Side,  being  nearer  to  the  other  institutions,  and  more 
convenient  for  the  Sisters,  who  had  often,  in  going 
to,  or  returning  from,  the  Lake  House,  to  stand,  an 
hour  at  a  time,  on  Lake  Street  Bridge  when  boats  were 
passing  up  and  down  the  river.  Opposite  the  Lake 
House,  the  bridge  was  only  a  collection  of  planks 
chained  together,  with  a  rope  attachment  to  hold  on 
to  while  crossing.  In  winter  this  was  a  perilous  feat, 
and  the  Sisters  went  out  of  their  way,  to  walk  across 
the  safer  bridge. 

Property  was  booming  then.  Land  Agencies  were 
making — and  marring — fortunes.  Lots  sold  so  quick- 
ly, even  at  fabulous  prices,  that  disappointed  pur- 
chasers bought  outside  the  city  limits,  trusting  to 
luck  for  results.  Mother  Francis  did  not  go  outside 
the  city  limits.  There  was  a  green,  stagnant  swamp 
on  the  corner  of  Van'  Buren  Street  and  Wabash 
Avenue  for  sale.  "  Why  not  buy  that,  Rev.  Mother?" 
she  asked  after  an  inspection  tour.  "  It  is  to  be  sold, 
and  there  is  little  chance  of  our  being  outbid  for  it." 

"  Buy  what,  Mother  Francis?  Buy  a  swamp!  No 
one  would  buy  that,"  Rev.  Mother  replied,  shortly. 
"  We  can  fill  it  up,  and  make  good  ground  of  it. 
The  finest  building  in  Chicago  may  stand  there  yet," 
persisted  Mother  Francis.  "  It  had  better  be  bought 
quickly,  too." 


DEATH    OF    HT.    REV.    BISHOP   QUARTER.  I-! 

"Perhaps  so,  dear.  This  is  a  wonderful  city.  As 
you  understand  such  matters  better  than  I  do.  Buy 
the  swamp.  God  blesses  whatever  you  touch."  The 
undesirable  looking  lots  Were  accordingly  purchased, 
and  after  some  delays,  Mercy  Hospital — on  a  small 
scale — was  built.  An  appeal  to  the  public  to  assist 
financially,  was  generously  responded  to.  A  few 
Fairs  were  held  while  the  Bishop  was  in  Rome,  to 
increase  the  funds;  for  which  reason,  perhaps,  when 
he  returned,  the  Hospital  was  recorded  as  diocesan 
property.  He  assured  the  Sisters,  however,  that 
when  it  became  self-supporting,  he  would  deed  it  back 
to  them;  which  transfer  never  took  place.  Mother 
Francis  shed  bitter  tears  afterwards  over  that  Hos- 
pital property. 

In  the  sweat  of  her  brow,  with  the  strength  of  her 
woman's  arm,  urged  on  by  an  indomitable  will,  she 
assisted  in  filling  up  the  swamp,  while  superintend- 
ing the  work.  The  Hospital,  with  a  small  frame 
building  in  the  rear  to  serve  for  an  Orphanage,  was 
opened  at  last,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  doctors, 
who  from  first  to  last  devoted  themselves  to  its  in- 
terests. Rev.  Mother  Agatha  knew  that  Chicago 
had  already  many  orphans,  whose  parents  had  suc- 
cumbed to  malarial  fevers,  dissipation,  or  blighted 
hopes.  She  did  not  think  the  time  had  come  to  es- 
tablished an  Orphanage,  as  the  Sisterhood  was  small, 
the  finances  inconsiderable,  and  no  outside  provision 
for  the  purpose  was    spoken    of.     She   thought,  too, 


44     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

that  Mother  Francis'  zeal  was  a  little  daring.  Her 
Mentor,  Mother  Francis,  notwithstanding,  importuned 
her  to  open  the  Orphanage. 

"  We  must  care  for  the  orphans,  as  well  as  for  the 
sick,"  she  said  with  her  usual  persistence.  "  I  met 
a  poor  .woman  on  the  street  to-day,  with  three  shiver- 
ing children,  whom  she  begged  us,  for  God's  sake, 
to  take  charge  of;  otherwise  they  must  starve.  Her 
husband  died  last  week  of  delirium  tremens,  and  she 
refuses  point  blank  to  go  to  the  poor-house.  What 
will  you  do  if  they  are  left  at  the  door?" 

"  We  will  consult  the  Bishop,  and  do  as  he  directs," 
replied  Rev.  Mother.  "But,  how  are  the  orphans  to 
be  supported?  It  is  no  light  undertaking,  Mother 
Francis,"  which  remark  remained  uncontradicted. 
However,  as  is  usual  on  such  occasions,  the  more 
ardent  spirit  prevailed  over  the  less  ardent  one,  and 
the  Orphan  Asylum,  with  the  Bishop's  consent,  but 
with  no  specified  arrangements  for  its  support,  was 
opened  shortly  after  the  opening  of  the  Hospital — 
mainly  through  the  instrumentality  of  Mother  Fran- 
cis. Its  first  contingent  were  the  waifs  she  met  on 
the  street. 


CHAPTER  V 


night  schools.  sodality  of  the  blessed  virgin, 
judge  arrington.  experience  of  a  convert. 
Chicago's  first  statue,    death  of  the  sculptor. 

A  T  an  early  period  the  Sisters  opened  a  night - 
-*--*-  school  for  domestic  servants  and  others,  who 
had  not  received  a  rudimentary  education;  but  who 
were  willing  to  begin  by  learning  the  alphabet,  that 
they  might  afterwards  read  their  prayer  books  at  mass 
Some  of  them  were  old  toilers  in  the  labor  world; 
others,  blooming  young  girls  commencing  to  earn 
wages;  all,  determined  to  learn  to  read  and  write,  for 
two  purposes — assisting  properly  at  mass,  and  corres- 
ponding with  their  friends  in  Ireland. 

Mother  Francis  and  other  Sisters  devoted  an  hour 
each  evening  to  the  instruction  of  these  women,  de- 
priving themselves  of  their  evening  recreation — the 
only  recreation  they  had.  Knowledge  of  Catholic 
doctrines,  and  their  duty  as  members  of  the  church, 
were  little  understood,  therefore,  the  Catechism  had 
to  be  taught  and  explained.  As  most  of  them  were 
unable    to    read   even    a    primer,    Mother    Francis 

(45) 


46     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

adopted  the  plan  of  reading  aloud  alternately  with 
an  assistant,  both  questions  and  answers;  the  girls 
repeating  in  chorus  what  they  heard  read.  The  plan 
- — not  a  new  one— succeeded  admirably,  and  the 
catechism  was  soon  known  from  cover  to  cover.  It 
was  a  strain  on  the  Sisters  to  spend  the  day  in 
crowded  school  rooms,  and  their  evenings  in  this 
gratuitous  work  of  charity,  but  they  were  well  repaid 
by  the  results. 

The  pupils  of  the  night-school,  with  few  exceptions, 
became  exemplary  members  of  the  Sodality  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  and  were  so  highly  esteemed  by 
their  Protestant  employers,  that  Sodalists  obtained 
the  best  domestic  situations  in  the  city.  A  Rev.  Mr. 
C,  afterwards  an  Anglican  Bishop,  having  two  of 
them  in  his  household  for  many  years,  declared  when 
they  left,  the  loss  of  a  dear  relative  would  give  him 
little  less  pain  than  the  loss  of  these  faithful  ser- 
vitors. 

They  were  loyal  to  each  other,  as  well  as  to  their 
employers.  Many  a  time,  after  a  hard  day's  work  in 
the  kitchen,  dining-room,  or  laundry,  they  were  to 
be  found  watching,  by  turns,  at  the  bed-side  of  a 
suffering  sodalist,  stricken  down  by  fever,  away  up 
on  the  top  floor  of  a  six-story  Chicago  hotel.  The 
Sisters  who  made  the  visitation,  often  found  them 
there,  fearless  of  contagion  for  themselves. 

One  of  them,  a  house-keeper,  who  lived  in  the 
home  of  Judge  Arrington,  for  some  time  previous  to 


EXPERIENCE     OF    A     CONVERT.  47 

his  death,  helped  to  bring  about  his  conversion  to 
Catholicity  in  a  remarkable  way.  Two  of  the  -I  udge's 
daughters,  pursuing  their  studies  at  St.  Mary's  Ac- 
ademy, South  Bend,  Indiana,  were  so  charmed  with 
the  beauty  of  Catholic  faith,  as  there  practiced,  that 
they  became  Catholics  themselves.  Mrs.  Judge 
Arrington,  who  frequently  visited  them,  followed  her 
children's  example.  The  great  Chicago  jurist  was 
so  displeased  with  their  change  of  creed,  that  a  long 
estrangement  of  hearts  between  himself  and  his 
family  existed,  and  two  separate  establishmeuts  were 
talked  of. 

Even  when  death  approached,  he  refused  to  be  re- 
conciled to  them.  Mrs.  Arrington  and  her  daughters, 
were  overwhelmed  with  sorrow,  and  feared  to  enter 
his  room.  The  house-keeper  understood  how  matters 
were.  "  Ladies,"  she  said,  coming  into  the  parlor 
where  the  thi'ee  were  weeping,  "  stop  your  crying, 
and  pray  for  him.  I  will  keep  on  saying  the  rosary 
at  his  door — if  he  wont  let  me  in — until  he  asks  to 
be  baptized  as  well  as  the  rest  of  you."  They  had 
been  saying  the  rosary  for  that  intention.  The  sick 
man  did  not  like  to  die,  and  told  Mary — the  house- 
keeper, and  the  only  attendant  he  tolerated  in  his 
presence — to  speak  to  him  no  more  of  death,  and  if 
he  had  to  die,  to  keep  away  from  him.  "Indeed. 
then,  I  will  not  keep  away  from  you,"  she  said,  "I 
will  stay  in  the  hall,  with  your  door  open,  and  watch 
you,  and  pray  for    you."     Not  being  vouchsafed  an 


48     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

answer,  she  knelt  down  in  the  hall,  and  began  to  re- 
cite the  rosary  aloud.  Judge  Arlington,  unable  to 
leave  his  bed,  used  language  more  forcible  than  po- 
lite, to  silence  her. 

Mary  knelt  for  more  than  two  hours,  forgetful  of 
everything  but  the  human  soul  she  was  determined 
to  assist  in  saving.  The  eloquent,  and  learned,  dy- 
ing Chicago  Judge,  and  the  humble,  zealous  Sodalist, 
were  alone  before  God,  in  the  struggle  with  death. 
"Mary,"  he  called  out,  at  last,  in  a  voice  that  startled 
her,  "bring  me  a  priest.  I  want  to  be  baptized 
quickly.  I  am  dying  now,  and  desire  to  die  a  cath- 
olic." "  Thank  God,"  exclaimed  the  girl,  rising 
from  her  knees  to  go  in  search  of  a  priest.  One 
happened  to  be  passing,  Rev.  Father  Conway,  after- 
wards, Vicar  General  of  Chicago,  who  was  soon  by 
Judge  Arlington's  bed-side,  administering  to  him 
the  sacraments  of  the  Church.  He  said  afterwards, 
that  he  found  the  Judge  fully  informed  of  all  Cath- 
olic doctrines. 

Mrs.  Arrington  asked  Mother  Francis,  to  prepare 
a  suitable  shroud  for  her  dead  husband,  and  to  allow 
the  Sisters  to  clothe  him  with  it  themselves.  All  of 
which  Mother  Francis  complied  with.'  The  body, 
draped  in  Catholic  burial  robes,  was  placed  in  a  coffin 
in  the  parlor.  Two  lighted  wax  tapers,  and  a  cruci- 
fix, at  the  head  of  the  coffin,  two  kneeling  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  at  the  foot,  met  the  astonished  gaze  of  the 
members  of  the  bar,  who   assembled  to  make  a  visit 


EXPERIENCE    OF    A   CONVERT.  49 

of  condolence.  Some  beautiful  verses  written  by 
Judge  Arrington  during  life,  in  praise  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,    appeared    in   the    "Ave    Maria"    after    his 

death.  He  was  fully  reconciled  to  his  wife  and 
children  before  departing. 

A  Lutheran  Norwegian,  also  a  convert  to  Cathol- 
icity, fearing  to  incur  her  father's  anger,  had  not 
told  him  of  her  baptism.  He  suspected  it.  neverthe- 
less, seeing  her  leave  the  convent  one  Sunday  in  the 
ranks  of  the  Sodality,  to  eider  St.  Mary's  Church. 
Dissembling  his  feelings  until  night,  when  she  was 
retiring  to  rest,  he  attacked  her  with  a  knife.  "If 
you  have  become  a  Catholic,"  he  cried  in  furious 
tones,  stabbing  her  twice,  though  not  vitally,  "I  will 
kill  you." 

The  horrified  girl,  seeing  murder  in  his  face,  and 
feeling  blood  oozing  from  her  wounds,  sprang  from 
the  bed,  dashed  through  the  window,  and  ran  down 
the  street  in  her  blood-stained  wrapper,  not  once 
slackening  her  race  for  life  until  she  reached  the 
convent,  eight  blocks  distant.  She  rang  the  bell 
violently  for  help,  fainting  in  the  hall  when  admitted. 
Baffled  in  his  design,  and  disconcerted  by  her  flight, 
her  father  made  no  attempt  to  follow. 

The  portress  recognizing  her,  by  Mother  Francis' 
direction,  dressed  her  wounds  and  made  her  comfor- 
table for  the  night.  Learning  that  her  aunt  lived  a 
short  distance  from  the  city,  she  was  sent  there  by 
rail  next  morning,  attired    in   an   outfit   provided  by 


50     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

the  Sisters.  She  was  safe  there.  Shortly  after  her 
departure,  her  father  called  to  learn  her  where- 
abouts; expressing  unfeigned  regret  for  what  he  had 
done.  "I  come  heie."  he  said,  "because  I  know  she 
would  go  nowhere  else.  Since  the  death  of  my  wife, 
I  had  only  this  child  to  live  for,  yet,  hatred  of 
Catholicity  prompted  me  to  take  her  life.  If  she 
will  return  to  me  again,  she  may  live  according  to 
her  convictions." 

Mother  Francis  seeing  by  his  tears  that  he  was 
sincere  in  what  he  said,  gave  him  his  daughter's 
address,  exacting  a  solemn  promise  that  there  would 
be  no  repetition  of  the  past.  He  made  the  promise 
and  kept  it.  In  a  few  weeks,  both  father  and 
daughter  called  to  thank  her  for  what  she  had  done, 
and  eventually,  the  man  became  a  Catholic. 

It  was  for  this  Sodality  the  first  statue  ever  made 
in  Chicago,  was  carved — a  marble  statue  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin.  Sister  M.  Baptist,  a  devoted  client 
of  Mary,  was  president  of  the  Sodality.  She  learned 
that  two  Germans,  a  father  and  son,  proprietors  of  a 
marble-yard  on  State  Street,  engraved  monuments 
artistically.  The  idea  suggested  itself,  that  they 
might  be  induced  to  try  their  skill  on  a  statue. 
Mother  Francis,  entering  into  her  views,  commenced 
a  novena  for  that  intention,  in  which  Sisters  and 
Sodalists  joined.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  novena, 
the  application  was  made,  and  promptly  rejected  by 
the  father,  who  declared  he  had  never  done  anything 


EXPERIENCE    OF    A    CONVERT,  51 

of  the  kind,  and  was  too  old  to  try.  The  son  con- 
sented, if  tin-  Sisters  procured  him  a  model,  and 
gave  him  their  views  from  time  to  time;  which  was 
done.  During  these  interviews,  Mary  being  the 
only  theme  of  conversation,  her  name  became  rooted 
in  the  young  man's  heart.  His  father  and  he  were 
infidels.  He  had  never  heard  her  spoken  of,  except 
in  scorn.  The  work  was  carried  on  Becretly  at  first. 
But  when  the  beautiful  figure  hidden  in  the  marble 
block  began  to  reveal  itself,  the  older  man,  who  saw 
it  accidentally,  could  not  refrain  from  expressing 
admiration. 

While  chiseling  the  features  of  Mary,  the 
sculptor's  genius  was  developed.  He  secreted  his 
work  no  more.  Unfortunately,  he  developed  not 
only  genius,  but  consumption;  failing  rapidly  as  the 
statue  neared  completion.  The  Sisters  prayed  that 
he  might  live  to  finish  it,  and  he  did.  Mother 
Francis,  knowing  that  his  heart  was  in  his  work, 
and  seeing,  he  could  not  last  much  longer,  besought 
him  to  see  a  priest,  as  Mary  would  be  sure  to  bring 
about  his  conversion. 

He  told  her,  he  ardently  desired  to  become  a 
Catholic  before  dying,  as  he  had  learned  to  love 
Christ's  Mother,  while  reproducing  her  in  marble. 
Therefore  wished  to  belong  to  the  only  church  that 
honored  her.  The  statue,  when  finished,  was  taken 
to  the  convent  to  be  placed  in  an  oratory  prepared 
to  receive  it — but,  the  sculptor  was  dying. 


52      LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

It  required  skillful  management  on  the  part  of  the 
Sisters  to  visit  him  after  that,  as  his  father  was 
determined  he  would  not  die  under  Catholic  influ- 
ence. He  did  not  absolutely  refuse  to  let  the 
Sisters  see  him,  he  only  stipulated  that  he  should  be 
present  when  they  were  there.  Sister  M.  Baptist 
arranged  matters  so  nicely,  that  the  old  gentleman 
permitted  the  Sisters  to  see  the  dying  youth  alone  a 
few  times.  That  point  gained,  paved  the  way  for 
another. 

She  begged  him  to  allow  a  priest  to  visit  his  boy 
— just  once.  He  yielded  again,  and  during  that 
— just  once — the  Sacraments  of  the  Church  were 
administered  to  the  fervent  neophyte.  The  priest 
called  no  more,  he  did  not  need  to,  as  next  day  the 
sculptor  was  dead.  Mary  took  him  to  heaven  before 
he  had  a  chance  to  sully  his  baptismal  robe. 

During  the  great  fire  of  1871,  the  head  of  this 
beautiful  statue  was  knocked  off  by  debris  falling  on 
it,  and  both  arms  were  broken.  The  headless  trunk 
is  preserved  in  a  grotto,  in  the  garden  of  the  House 
of  Mercy,  where  fresh  flowers  are  daily  placed  before 
it,  in  thanksgiving  for  the  Sisters'  marvelous  escapes 
from  the  fire.  Few  who  know  its  history,  look  upon 
it  without  remembering  the  soul  of  him  who  owed 
his  salvation  to  the  Mother  of  God. 

The  first  marble  altar  erected  in  Chicago,  was  a 
gift  of  the  Sisters  to  Eev.  Mother  Francis,  on  the 
Feast  of  her  Patron,  St.  Francis  de  Sales.     It  was 


EXPERIENCE     OF     A    CONVERT.  53 

greatly  admired,  and  was  intact  when  the  fire  Droke 
out.  The  fierce  heal  of  the  burning  city  and  con- 
vent, reduced  it  to  a  heap  of  white  ashes,  piled  up 
on  the  spot  where  it  once  stood.  A  Chicago  man 
made  this  altar.  In  connection  with  the  Sodality. 
though  later  in  time,  another  incident  may  be  men- 
tioned. As  soon  as  the  House  of  Providence  was 
opened  as  a  home  for  working-girls,  it  was  filled. 
Among  the  boarders  were  several  Protestant  lady- 
clerks,  Protestant  in  name  only,  having  no  special 
religious  beliefs.  Four  were  so  impressed  with  the 
reverence  of  the  Catholic  girls  during  the  hours  of 
prayer,  at  which  all  were  required  to  attend,  that 
they  asked  to  he  instructed  for  baptism;  and  after 
due  course  of  instruction,  were  publicly  baptized  in 
St.  Mary's  Church.  This  caused  a  sensation  in  non- 
catholic  circles. 

A  Revivalist.  Mr.  M who  was  then  beginning 

to  attract  public  attention,  called  at  the  Home  to  ask 
if  undue  influence  had  not  something  to  do  with 
these  so-called  conversions  to  Catholicity.  The 
Sister  in  charge  replied,  that  his  question  could  be 
best  answered  by  the  converts  themselves,  and 
bringing  them  to  him.  she  withdrew.  The  confer- 
ence— a  long  one — resulted  in  disabusing  Mr.  M.'s 
mind  of  the  idea  of  undue  influence;  each  of  the 
girls  declaring  that  the  choice  she  had  made  was  her 
own  deliberate  act.  However,  one  of  them  after- 
wards recanted,  while  the  others  remained  firm. 

Mr    M ,  a   Chicago  gentleman,    told    Sister, 


54      LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

before  leaving,  that  he  would  open  a  Home  for  Girls, 
to  be  controlled  by  the  various  Church  Organizations 
of  the  City;  as  an  offset  to  the  workings  of  the 
Home  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy.  "  Per- 
haps, we  will  make  converts,  too,"  he  added.  He 
was  an  earnest  worker;  had  much  influence;  and  the 
new  Home  was  soon  opened  with  eclat,  on  West 
Randolph  Street,  in  a  rented  house.  The  event  was 
announced  from  many  pulpits.  The  newspapers 
described,  among  other  attractions,  its  library, 
music -room,  reception-room,  and  all  modern  im- 
provements. The  Sisters  of  Mercy  had  no  such 
comforts  to  offer — nothing  but  a  plainly -furnished 
house,  and  good  board.  Rev.  Mother  Francis 
trembled  lest  her  Sodalists  and  others  would  be 
tempted  by  "  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt." 

One  of  the  first  persons  to  enter  Mr.  M.'s  Home, 
was  the  convert  who  recanted.  Once  domiciled,  she 
brooked  no  control,  A  semi-fashionable  set  of 
boarders  availed  themselves  of  the  advantages  of  the 
luxurious  institution,  gave  parties,  received  visitors- 
The  matron  vainly  endeavored  to  enforce  observance 
of  rule.  Her  directions  were  disregarded,  and,  as  a 
finale,  the  recanted  convert  unintentionally  set  fire 
to  the  house — which  was  burned  to  the  ground — in 
making  preparations  for  a  grand  supper.  The 
enterprise  was  finally  abandoned,  and  no  substitute 
took  its  place.  Mother  Francis'  fears  proved 
groundless,  and  the  .House  of  Providence  "pursued 
the  even  tenor  of  its  way." 


CHAPTER  VI 


.'HE     Z!HOLERA,       DEATH     OF     REV.     MOTHER      AGATHA, 

and  otheb  sisters.  rt;  rev.  anthony  o'regan. 
bishop  smith,  administrator.  mother  francis, 
superior,    st.  agatha's  academy,    sisters  visit 

THE  JAIL.  BISHOP  DUGGAN's  EXPERIENCE  WITH  A 
PRISONER. 

IPOR  many  years  the  Hospital  did  not  pay 
-*-  expenses.  The  poor,  its  chief  patrons,  were 
often  boarded  gratuitously.  The  Commissioners  of 
Cook  County,  contemplating  the  erection  of  a 
County  Hospital,  in  the  near  future,  gave  little  help 
— keeping  the  sick  poor  in  the  Aims-House,  or 
paying  low  rates  for  those  they  sent  to  the  Hospital. 
Taking  all  things  into  consideration,  it  was  with 
difficulty  kept  open;  and  but  for  the  exertions  of  its 
firm  friends — the  doctors — who  sent  paying  patients 
whenever  they  could,  Mercy  Hospital,  like  the 
Lake  House  Hospital,  would  have  been  closed. 

The  Sisters,  however,  bore  the  monetary  strain,  as 
souls  were  saved  and  suffering  was  alleviated. 
Mother  Francis  assisted  in  the  work  of  the  Hospital, 

(55) 


56      LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLANl;, 

whenever  she  could,  though  having  scant  leisure; 
During  these  arduous  times,  Rev.  Mother  Agatha 
declared,  she  could  not  have  borne  the  burden  of 
office  without  Mother  Francis'  assistance.  A  postu- 
lant who  saw  her  washing  dishes,  said  to  another 
postulant:  "  How  humble  Mother  Francis  is.  I 
thought  only  postulants  and  novices  washed  dishes." 

The  shadow  of  the  cross,  in  the  shadow  of  death, 
was  again  approaching.  In  the  summer  of  1854, 
Asiatic  Cholera  broke  out  in  Chicago,  spreading 
with  frightful  rapidity.  More  than  fourteen  hun- 
dred people  were  carried  off  by  it,  and  burials — not 
always  of  the  dead — were  of  hourly  occurrence. 
The  Sisters  who  visited  the  homes  of  the  plague- 
stricken  5  found  appalling  mortality  in  the  poorer 
districts. 

Rev  Mother  took  her  turn  on  the  visitation,  as 
well  as  the  rest.  In  a  deserted  house  in  an  alley,  a 
father,  mother  and  two  children,  struggled  in  the 
throes  of  the  plague.  For  twenty-four  hours  no 
human  being  had  gone  near  them.  People  would 
not  risk  their  lives.  Two  Sisters  passing  through 
the  neighborhood,  hearing  of  the  shocking  fact, 
went  in  to  give  such  assistance  as  they  could,  and 
soon  a  figure  appeared  in  the  door- way. 

"Are  your  children  dead  yet?"  asked  a  gentle- 
man's voice  in  which  a  slight  tremor  might  be 
detected.  "Come  in  and  see,"  replied  one  of  the 
Sisters.     "Come  in!  not  for  the  world  I     I    am   the 


SISTEBS    VISIT    THE    JAIL.  57 

pastor  of  a  congregation,  and  cannot  expose  either 
my  family  or  my  congregation  to  the  danger  of 
contagion.  The  city  officials  should  lake  charge  of 
this  case,  which  is  injuring  the  locality.  But,  are 
there  Btrangers  inside?  " 

"Yes,  the  Sisters  of  Mercy.  Won't  you  come 
in?"  "I  admire  your  courage,  Sisters,  although 
prduence  forbids  me  to  imitate  it."  he  said,  suddenly 
disappearing  from  the  door-way.  and  they  saw  him 
no  more.  One  hour  later,  a  priest  prepared  the 
parents  for  their  passage  to  eternity.  The  children 
were  already  dead.  This  was  not  an  isolated  case. 
There  were  many  such.  Neither  was  the  cholera 
confined  to  the  non-sanitary  parts  of  Chicago.  It 
found  its  way  into  wealthy  homes,  like  a  destroying 
angel,  leaving  the  dead  to  mark  its  path. 

On  the  evening  of  July  7th,  Rev.  Mother  Agatha 
returned  from  the  visitation,  showing  symptoms  of 
cholera.  She  had  scarcely  strength  enough  to  reach 
the  infirmary,  when  three  other  Sisters,  also  pro- 
strated by  cholera,  lay  writhing  in  pain.  '"Darling 
Rev.  Mother,  are  we  all  to  die  together?  What  will 
become  of  us  if  you  leave  us?"  exclaimed  the  infirma- 
rian,  in  an  agony  of  tears.  "It  will  kill  Mother 
Francis.'" 

"  Whatever  God  wills,  is  best.*'  murmured  Rev. 
Mother,  to  whom  the  last  sacraments  wen-  immedi- 
ately admininistered,  as  she  was  becoming  uncon- 
scious.     She   did   not   speak   again.      There  was  one, 


58     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

however,  who  knew  no  fear,  even  in  that  extremity — 
brave,  faithful  Mother  Francis.  To  lose  Rev. 
Mother  was  the  saddest  blow  of  her  life,  and  she 
saw  that  she  must  face  it.  All  through  the  weary 
night  she  watched  by  the  dying  Mother  whom  no 
human  skill  conld  save.  Her  heart  was  breaking. 
Her  spirit  never  quailed.  Towards  morning,  Mother 
Agatha  passed  quietly  away,  the  victim  of  Catholic 
charity. 

Mother  Francis,  intensely  saddened,  wondered  at 
her  own  calmness  during  that  unlooked-for  death- 
scene.  She  shed  no  tears;  there  are  griefs  too  deep 
for  them.  The  other  Sisters  died  about  the  same 
time  as  Rev.  Mother.  A  profound  sensation  was 
produced  next  day,  by  seeing'  so  many  Sisters 
carried  to  their  graves  from  the  convent  on  Wabash 
Avenue. 

At  the  close  of  the  cholera  season,  Rt.  Rev. 
Anthony  0' Regan,  became  Bishop  of  Chicago,  in 
consequence  of  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Vandevelde, 
who  was  transferred  to  the  See  of  Natches.  On  the 
death  of  Rev.  Mother  Agatha,  Mother  M.  Paul  Ruth 
was  elected  Superior,  and  died  the  following  year. 
Mother  M.  Vincent  McGirr  succeeded  her;  but  the 
loss  of  so  many  senior  members  made  itself  felt; 
school  attendance  decreased ;  finances  were  low ;  more 
teaching  Sisters  were  needed,  but  applications  had 
ceased. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  St.  Xavier's  a 


SISTE1IS    VISIT    THE    JAIL.  59 

gloom  settled  over  it.  For  the  first  time,  too, 
strange  to  say.  the  Sisters  intuitively  thought  of 
Mother  Francis  for  Superior.  The  time  had  come 
when  a  pilot  must  stand  at  the  helm.  There  are 
foldings  of  the  human  heart  difficult  to  unravel. 
Cultured  people  sometimes  do  not  take  broad  enough 
views  of  things.  The  bread-winners  often  do  not 
get  the  credit  they  deserve.  Yet  culture,  without  a 
knowledge  of  business,  would  do  only  a  half  finished 
work — the  soul  gifts  of  Martha  and  Mary,  combined, 
being  necessary  for  its  completion. 

Be  it  as  it  may,  when  Mother  Vincent's  term  of 
office  expired,  there  was  a  general  restoration  of  con- 
fidence, on  finding  that  Mother  Francis  was  to  suc- 
ceed her.  Rev.  Mother  Vincent  had  labored  under 
difficulties  she  could  not  control,  few  feeling  more 
keenly  than  herself  the  wants  that  were  not  easily 
supplied.  Now,  however,  a  feeling  of  security  suc- 
ceeded to  the  unrest  of  insecurity. 

Rt.  Rev.  Clement  Smith  was  temporary  adminis- 
trator of  the  diocese  of  Chicago,  after  Bishop 
O'Regan's  departure.  In  Bishop  Vandevelde's  time, 
complications  had  arisen  that  Bishop  O'Regan  could 
not  satisfactorily  arrange,  and  Chicago  was  again  left 
without  a  bishop.  It  may  be  remarked,  that,  al- 
though the  future  of  Catholicity  in  Illinois  already 
foreshadowed  its  coming  greatness,  the  actual  finanres 
were  not  adequate  to  the  demands  made  upon  Bishop 
O'Regan;    hence,    he    desired   to  secure  a  sufficient 


60     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

church  revenue  by  the  acquisition  of  real  estate,  in 
which  attempt  he  was  not  successful.  With  pre- 
mission  of  the  Holy  Father  he  went  to  England  in 
1858,  and  died  there  in  1805. 

An  era  of  prosperity  again  dawned  upon  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy  under  the  guidance  of  their  new 
Superior.  Several  talented  subjects  entered  and  pre- 
severed.  The  neglected  lots  attached  to  the  convent 
became  a  blooming  garden,  sheltered  by  the  shadow 
of  St.  Mary's  Church.  The  empty  treasury  was  re- 
plenished, glory  was  given  to  God. 

Pupils  were  so  numerous  that  an  outlet  had  to  be 
made.  Mother  Francis,  always  on  the  alert,  said  to 
the  Sisters,  "Another  Academy  ought  to  be  built 
further  south  where  a  school  is  needed.  The  bus- 
iness men  of  Chicago  will  give  us  time  and  credit. 
It  will  soon  pay  for  itself,  even  if  it  involves  sacrifice 
at  first.'" 

Her  proposal — the  necessity  of  which  was  evident 
— met  the  approval  of  the  community,  and  she  set  to 
work  forthwith.  There  was  a  block  for  sale  on  easy 
terms,  bounded  on  three  sides,  by  Calumet  Avenue, 
Prairie  Avenue  and  Twenty-Sixth  Street,  which  be- 
came convent  property.  This  was  considered  a  great 
venture  for  the  Sisters,  who  called  the  new  building 
when  completed,  St.  Agatha's  Seminary,  in  memory 
of  Rev.  Mother  Agatha  O'Brien. 

People  wondered  where  the  money  came  from,  as 
it  was  pretty  generally  known,  the  Hospital,  in  order 


SISTERS    VISIT    THE    JAN..  61 

to  keep  it  ranning,  was  partially  supported  by  the 
private  funds  of  the  convent.  They  did  not  reflect 
that  one  secret  of  sueeess  in  monastic  institutions  is 
the  vow  of  poverty.  Receiving,  and  expecting  noth- 
ing, but  food  and  clothing,  the  revenue  derived  from 
the  mental  or  manual  labor  of  religious  persons,  is 
devoted  to  the  furtherance  of  the  special  work  of  each 
congregation — primarily,  to  the  glory  of  God.  So 
secure  a  fund  does  this  vow  observed  in  its  integrity, 
create,  that  portionless  applicants  possessing  solid 
virtue,  are  seldom  refused  admission  into  religious 
houses. 

In  this  particular  instance,  the  Sisters  were  relieved 
of  anxiety  by  a  generous  building  contractor,  who 
erected  the  Academy  with  his  own  money,  promising 
to  wait  until  Mother  Francis  could  repay  him.  which 
was  not  a  very  long  time.  The  public  did  not  know 
this,  and  hence  the  wonder. 

As  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  were  the  pioneer  religious 
of  Chicago,  the  duty  of  teaching,  at  present  divided 
between  a  dozen  or  more  different  Orders,  at  that 
time  entirely  devolved  upon  them.  As  did  also,  vis- 
itation of  the  sick  from  one  extremity  of  the  city  to 
the  other;  visitation  of  prisoners  in  jails  and  bride- 
wells; visits  of  condolence  to  homes  of  misfortune, 
or  family  jars;  with  occasional  calls  at  the  poor- 
house',  whence  they  seldom  emerged  without  bring- 
ing with  them  living  proofs  of  the  uncleanliness  of 
the  place. 


62     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

To  the  smallest  details  of  these  duties,  Mother 
Francis  gave,  when  possible,  personal  supervision; 
and  many  a  weary  mile  was  travelled  by  her  in  search 
of  the  friendless  and  the  outcast,  to  whom  her  pres- 
ence brought  cheer  and  blessing.  No  wonder,  that 
her  name  became  a  household  word  in  the  stirring 
scenes  through  which  she  passed.  No  wonder  that 
the  Hospital,  Schools,  and  Asylum,  could  not  contain 
the  numbers  that  claimed  the  Sisters  care,  as  the 
marvelous  increase  in  population  added  thousands  to 
the  city's  yearly  record.  But  they  cheerfully  bore 
the  burdens  of  the  day,  and  are  now  the  owners  of 
some  of  the  finest  architectural  institutions  in 
Chicago. 

Speaking  of  prison  visits,  once,  two  Sisters  were 
sent  to  console,  or  rather  control,  a  batch  of  female 
prisoners  confined  in  the  jail  under  the  Court  House. 
"  We  can't  do  a  thing  with  them,  Sisters,"  said  the 
jailer,  opening  the  cell-door  to  admit  them.  Perhaps 
you  can  bring  them  to  reason  before  we  are  com- 
pelled to  use  hand-cuffs.  They  are  Catholics  who 
are  a  disgrace  to  the  church." 

Noticing  that  he  was  going  to  lock  them  in,  the 
Sisters  explained  that  they  could  only  remain  one 
hour,  as  they  had  other  calls  to  make. 

"  All  right,"  he  said,  looking  at  his  watch,"  it  is 
nine  o'clock  now,  I  will  be  back  at  ten,  to  let  you 
out." 

But  he  was  not  back  at  ten,  and  the  Sisters  were 


SISTEBS    VISIT    THE    JAIL.  63 

for  nine  Long  hours  incarcerated  with  the  erring 
women,  filling  up  the  time  as  besl  they  could;  and 
accepting  with,  at  least,  outward  composure,  the  dis- 
agreeableness  of  the  situation.  The  prisoners  were 
"  on  punishment "  for  general  disregard  of  prison 
rule,  and  got  no  dinner.  In  the  meantime,  the 
Sisters  prayed,  advised,  recited  the  rosary,  without 
visible  effect,  as  the  women  continued  to  be  noisy; 
persistently  declaring  they  were  innocent  of  law- 
breaking. 

"  I  felt  weak  coming  out  of  church,"  said  one,  "and 
a  drink  of  peppermint  upset  me.  That  is  why  I'm 
here." 

"  I  took  a  loan  of  a  plush  cloak  from  a  store  on 
State  Street,  intending  to  return  it  next  day.  And 
just  because  I  forgot  to  return  it,  they  locked  me 
up,"  explained  another. 

"  My  sister-in-law  and  I  had  a  few  words  on  the 
street,  about  nothing  at  all,  and  the  next  thing  I 
knew,  as  true  as  I  tell  it  to  you,  I  was  put  where  you 
see  me,"  remarked  the  third. 

"  Jim  is  on  a  strike,  Sister,  and  because  we  cheered 
him  when  he  spoke  at  the  meeting,  we  must  stand  a 
trial.  I  am  one  of  the  we,  and  protest  against  the 
tyranny  of  the  law,"  added  the  most  intelligent  look- 
ing prisoner  in  the  group. 

"  By  what  you  say."  ventured  one  of  the  Sisters. 
"  this  jail  is  a  temporary  home  for  saints — not  sin- 
ners."     "'  Saints  or  sinners,  you  are   with    us  for  this 


64     LIFE  OP  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

day,  any  way,  Sister,"'  said  the  prisoner  who  had  not 
yet  spoken.  "  Try  the  rosary  again,  and  may  be  we 
will  do  better." 

The  rosary  was  said  a  seventh  time,  and  grace  pre-, 
vailed.  Tears  were  flowing  from  hardened  eyes, 
promises  of  amendment  were  fervently  made,  as  the 
jailer  turned  the  key  in  the  lock  at  6  o'clock  p.  m. 
Never  was  the  click  of  a  lock  sweeter  to  the  Sisters 
ears  than  on  that  occasion.  The  prisoners  were 
hungry  and  quiet.  "  A  thousand  pardons,  Sisters," 
he  said  in  trepidation.  "  I  forgot  all  about  you,  and 
know  that  apologies  will  not  atone  for  my  neglect. 
Please  do  not  report  me  to  the  authorities.  If  you 
do,  I  will  lose  my  place,  and  my  wife  and  children 
will  suffer  for  my  bad  memory."  The  apology  was 
accepted  and  the  Sisters  left,  glad  to  have  effected 
some  spiritual  good  during  their  accidental  durance. 
When  Bishop  Duggan  heard  of  it,  he  said  to  Mother 
Francis:  "  The  Sisters  were  lucky  to  get  off  with 
such  a  short  term  of  imprisonment.  When  I  was 
chaplain  at  the  Four  Courts  Jail,  in  St.  Louis,  Mis- 
souri, I  was  locked  up  for  twelve  mortal  hours,  by 
mistake,  of  course,  with  a  prisoner  under  sentence  of 
death  for  murder.  He  was  a  fierce  Missouri  out- 
law, although  a  Catholic;  and  would  have  inflicted 
bodily  injury  on  me  but  for  his  heavy  iron  manacles. 

"  Finding  that  my  efforts  to  reconcile  him  with 
God,  were  useless,  and  understanding  by  the  jailor's 
absence  that  I  was  not  going  to  get  out  of  there  be- 


SISTERS    VISIT  THE    JAIL.  65 

fore  the  nigljt-watch,  I  resigned  myself  to  fate  read 
my  breviary,  recited  the  rosary  aloud     lie  could  not 

prevent  that — and.  at  last.  Messed  be  Grod!  1  heard 
him  say  in  a  voice  tremulous  with  emotion:  'Holy 
Mary,  .Mother  of  God,  pray  for  me  now.  and  at  the 
hour  of  my  death.  Father  Duggau,  I  will  make  my 
confession.     May  God  have  mercy  on  my  soul." 

"Here,  indeed,  was  the  change  of  the  right  hand 
of  the  Most  High.  This  man,  who.  in  the  morning, 
win-never  I  approached  the  subject  of  confession,  de- 
clared angrily:  '  God  knows  all  about  that  murder. 
He  could  have  prevented  it,  if  He  wanted  to.  Since 
He  did  not,  and  I  am  going  to  perdition,  anyhow, 
not  one  word  either  you  or  He,  will  learn  from  me 
about  it.  You  had  better  get  out  of  here,  or  I  may 
do  you  harm  now,  when  the  Mother  of  God,  through 
means  of  the  rosary  spoke  to  his  heart,  he  wept  like  a 
wayward  child,  and  asked  to  receive  the  rites  of  the 
church. 

"You  may  be  sure  I  felt  well  repaid  for  the  day 
passed  in  that  convict  cell;  and  had  the  consolation 
of  administering  the  last  sacraments  to  a  truly  re- 
pentant sinner.  Tell  the  Sisters  that  their  Bishop 
once  had  the  same  prison  experience  as  themselves; 
and  that  neither  need  be  ashamed  to  own  it." 


CHAPTER  VII. 


ST.  AGATHA  S  ACADEMY.  DRS.  N.  S.  DAVIS  AND  E.  BY- 
FORD,  IN  CONNECTION  WITH  MERCY  HOSPITAL.  FAIRS 
FOR  THE  ORPHAN  ASYLUM.  THE  SISTERS  OF  CHARITY, 
B.  V.  M.  PURCHASE  OF  THE  FIFTY  ACRES,  NOW  A 
BOULEVARD.  ERECTION  OF  A  NEW  ST.  XAVIER's  AC- 
ADEMY.      NORRY  AND  TIM  CALLAGHAN. 

As  Mother  Francis  had  predicted,  the  indebted- 
ness on  St.  Agatha's  was  soon  cleared.  It  out-rivalled 
in  popularity  the  old — and  in  the  light  of  modern 
equipments — the  old-fashioned  academic  halls  of  St. 
Xavier's.  School  facilities  in  the  early  fifties  were 
not  as  elegant  as  now.  There  were  neither  elevator- 
ascensions,  gymnasiums,  nor  steam-heating.  But, 
the  brawn  and  the  brain  were  there ;  nor  could  these 
things,  progressive,  and  tone-giving  though  they 
be,  add  one  whit  to  the  sterling  worth  of  the  first 
schools  taught  by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  in  Chicago. 

The  fame  of  the  Sisters  as  teachers,  like,  Mother 
Francis  popularity,  was  not  confined  to  Illinois.  On 
their  registers  appeared  the  names  of  pupils  from 
Missouri,  California,  Ohio,  Colorado  and  other  states. 

(66) 


THE    SISTEBS    OF    CHARITY,    B.    V.    M.  67 

Many  of  them  were  proficient  in  music,  painting, 
drawing,  ('locution,  embroidery,  mathematics,  and 
other  branches  of  a  liberal  education. 

Their  parochial  schools,  where  no  charge  was 
made  for  tuition,  were  filled  with  pupils  who  received 
instructions  suited  to  their  Bphere  in  life.  The  first 
frame  church  in  Chicago,  being  superseded  by  a 
nobler  structure,  was  used  for  years  as  a  free  school 
in  the  rear  of  St.  Mary's  Church.  A  visitor  of  note 
at  St.  Agatha's,  was  Senator  Stephen  A.  Douglas, 
shortly  before  his  defeat  for  the  Presidency,  when 
rumors  of  war  were  afloat.  In  return,  Mother  Fran- 
cis sent  Sisters  to  visit  him  when  he  lay  on  his  death- 
bed in  a  Chicago  hotel,  and  he  thanked  them  for 
coming.  The  Sisters  visit,  together  with  the  fact, 
that  Bishop  Duggan  delivered  an  eloquent  oration  at 
Senator  Douglas'  grave,  gave  rise  to  a  supposition 
that  he  became  a  Catholic  before  he  died.  The 
supposition  was  incorrect. 

Notwithstanding  the  prosperity  of  the  Academy, 
the  hospital  was  still  not  self-supporting.  In  the 
nature  of  things,  the  Asylum  was  not  self-supporting. 
Both  charities  were  assisted  from  the  revenues  of 
the  schools.  "Let  not  thy  left  hand  know  what  thy 
right  hand  doeth,"  is  a  scriptural  injunction,  in 
compliance  with  which,  Mother  Francis  spoke  little 
about  the  poverty  of  these  institutions. 

It  is  but  just  to  say,  that  Dr.  N.  S.  Davis,  and 
Surgeon   E.   Andrews,    notably,   with  other  medical 


68      LIFE  OF  MOTHEE  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

gentlemen,  gave  the  hospital  their  almost  undivided 
attention  during  the  first  struggling  years  of  its 
existence;  aiding  the  Sisters  as  best  they  could  in  it? 
humanitarian  work.  They  foresaw  grand  results 
after  the  monetary  depression  passed  away,  as  did 
Mother  Francis,  herself.  When  called  upon,  the) 
were  in  attendenee.  When  not  called  upon,  they 
were  there,  too,  anxious  and  successful  in  procuring 
it  patronage.  These  gentlemen,  respectively  at  the 
head  of  their  professions  to-day,  are  not  Catholics,  but 
they  are  philanthropists  in  the  broadest  sense  of  the 
word.  Each  has  a  son  following  his  father's  noble 
calling — like  them,  attaining  eminence.  The  fame 
of  this  now  splendid  hospital  is  largely  due  to  them. 

Students  from  different  parts  of  the  country,  who 
have  attended  their  hospital  clinics,  proudly  refer 
to  them  as  medical  educators ;  the  suffering  of  every 
nationality  and  creed,  revere  them;  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy  thank  them  for  their  unwearied  assistance  in 
the  hospital,  where  they  have  acted  not  only  as 
friends,  but  fathers,  neither  asking  nor  receiving  a 
dollar  for  their  services.  All  honor,  then,  to  the 
names  of  Dr.  N.  S.  Davis  and  Surgeon  E.  Andrews! 

Nor  must  the  Specialist,  Dr.  E.  Byford,  be  for- 
gotten in  connection  with  Mercy  Hospital  of  Chicago, 
He  did  his  full  share  of  gratuitous  labor  there;  pro- 
cured it  patronage ;  and  helped  to  raise  it  to  its  pre- 
sent high  standing,  although  he  did  not  worship  at 
the  same  altar  with  the  Sisters. 


THE    SISTERS    OF    CHAH1TY,    B.    V.    .M .  69 

Examples  like  these,  are  bright  oasis  inthedeserl 
of    life,    where    philanthropists    are    few    enough 

America  has  some,  however. 

To  return,  it  musl  be  admitted  that  annual  Fairs 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Orphan  Asylum  were  held,  and 
wire  at  first  well  patronized.  If  they  were  not,  the 
Supervisors  of  Cook  County  would  have  been  obliged 
to  support  the  Orphans  by  imposing  an  additional 
tax.  As  it  was,  they  did  not  appropriate  a  dollar  to 
help  the  Sisters — gave  it  no  thought. 

But  Fairs  are  not  perennial  plants,  always  bloom- 
ing, always  bearing  fruit.  They  ceased  to  interest 
the  public,  to  a  certain  extent,  in  the  course  of  years: 
consequently,  this  source  of  revenue  decreased. 
Neither  was  the  Asylum  an  inviting  residence,  as  the 
Sisters  acknowledged:  but  no  one  offered  to  erect  a 
better  one;  and  after  building  St.  Agatha's,  Mother 
Francis  could  not  afford  to  build  again.  A  few  prom- 
inent citizens  knew  this,  and  sympathized  with  her, 
but  some  of  the  Clergy  asked,  perhaps,  without  re- 
flection: "  Why  did  not  Mother  Francis  build  an 
Asylum?  Fairs  were  held  for  the  Asylum.  They 
have  paid  well.      We  cannot  understand  it." 

The  inuendo  reaching  Mother  Francis'  ears,  pierced 
her  to  the  quick.  She  was  silent  however,  as  she 
always  was  when  unjustly  judged.  And  so  the  thing 
went  on,  adding  yearly  to  the  Sisters  burdens.  In 
the  meantime,  Pit.  Rev.  Bishop  ( )']{egan  left  Chicago, 
and  during  the    interregnum   that  followed,  Bishop 


70     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

Smith  of  Dubuque,  officially  visited  the  diocese.  A 
beautiful  trait  of  Mother  Francis'  character  may  be 
mentioned  here. 

The  sisters  of  Charity,  B.  V.  M.  of  Dubuque, 
founded  by  Rev.  T.  J.  Donaghoe  of  St.  Michael's 
Church,  Philadelphia,  and  Mother  Mary  Clarke,  of 
Dublin.  Ireland,  were  still  in  the  first  stage  of  exis- 
tence as  a  religious  body.  No  formal  rule  had  been 
adopted — no  confirmation  by  Rome  received.  Acer- 
tain  looseness,  so  to  speak,  existed,  or  was  supposed 
to  exist. 

As  in  every  other  congregation,  some  aspirants  for 
ascetic  life  entered  on  probation,  and  left  of  their 
own  accord,  or  were  requested  to  leave,  as  the  case 
might  be.  Persons  of  this  description  often  describe 
their  brief  experience  at  the  expense  of  truth.  Sim- 
ply entering  a  convent  does  not  make  one  impec- 
cable. The  passions  inherent  to  human  nature 
remain  to  be  conquered;  and  those  who  know  least 
about  the  struggle,  are  frequently  its  severest  critics. 

Bishop  Smith,  himself  a  strict  disciplinarian,  and  a 
regularly  observant  Trappist,  even  on  the  episcopal 
throne,  felt  inspired  to  precipitate  matters,  by  intro- 
ducing more  formal  convent ualism  among  the  Sisters 
of  his  diocese.  He  knew  that  the  Order  of  Mercy 
was  confirmed  by  Rome  in  1840;  he  knew  of  Mother 
Francis'  phenomenal  powers  of  government;  there- 
fore, asked  her  to  send  some  members  of  her  com- 
munity to  exemplify  the  life  of  a  confirmed  order  to 
the  Sisterhood  in  Dubuque. 


THE    SISTERS   OF    CHARITY,    B.    V.    M.  71 

'Oh!  Bishop!  how  could  I  do  that?"  she  ex- 
claimed, humility  and  justice  making  her  shrink  from 
'he  proposal.  "  There  are  exemplary  women  in  that 
congregation,  which  is  not  yet  matured.  The  Found- 
ress, a  person  of  large  experience,  is  noted  for  her 
wisdom  and  sanctity.  Wait  a  while,  and  they  will 
adopt  a  rule  suited  to  themselves.  Patience  is  all 
that  is  necessary." 

Bishop  Smith  understood  by  the  answer  that  she 
did  not  intend  to  reap  where  she  had  not  sown;  and 
that  neither  would  she,  without  a  positive  command, 
pretend  to  lead  to  higher  spirituality  people  already 
far  advanced  in  the  science  of  the  saints;  part  of 
which  science  was  acquired  during  the  Philadelphia 
riots,  when  the  Knownothings  burned  their  convent 
to  the  ground. 
.  Disappointed,  therefore,  but  disappointed  like  a 
son  of  Saint  Bruno,  he  pressed  the  matter  no  further; 
returned  regretfully  to  Dubuque;  and  never  saw 
either  Mother  Francis  or  Chicago  again.  His  holy 
death  occurred,  September  22.  1865,  and  Mother 
Francis'  prediction  regaiding  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 
B.  V.  M.  was  fulfilled  to  the  letter.  They  have 
since  become  a  flourishing  community,  and  have 
adopted  a  rule  specially  selected  for  them  in  Rome. 

In  the  early  days,  when  Mother  Agatha  was  Su- 
perior, Mother  Francis  induced  her  to  buy  fifty  acres 
of  unbroken  prairie  in  the  suburbs  of  South  Chicago; 
or  rather,  she  purchased  them,  herself,  presuming  on 


72     LIFE  OF  MOTHEK  MAEY  MONHOLLAND. 

permission,  during  the  temporary  absence  of  Mother 
Agatha,  acquainting  her  of  the  fact  afterwards. 

"  I  thought  you  would  not  object,  Rev.  Mother,"'' 
she  said.  "  The  land  is  cheap,  and  so  many  were  ne- 
gotiating for  it  that  in  another  hour  it  would  have 
been  lost  to  us.  I  hope  I  have  done  nothing  very 
wrong. 

"Oh,  no,  nothing  wrong,  of  course,  although  you 
ought  to  have  awaited  my  return.  But  it  seems  fool- 
ish to  buy  on  the  prairie.  We  can  not  use  it  to  any 
advantage  just  now,"  answered  Rev.  Mother,  who  in 
her  heart  believed  Mother  Francis  purchased  well. 

"  Indeed  we  can,  begging  your  pardon,"  returned 
smiling  Mother  Francis,  who  was  sure,  beforehand, 
of  forgiveness.  "  We  can  raise  live  stock  on  it,  and 
have  plenty  of  milk,  butter,  chickens  and  eggs,  for 
the  orphans,  as  well  as  for  ourselves.  (She  never 
forgot  the  orphans.)  Chicago  may  be  flooded  by  the 
Lake,  yet,  or  burned  down.  When  that  happens, 
which  God  avert,  our  suburban  farm  will  be  worth 
its  weight  in  gold;  indeed,  may  be  the  saving  of  the 
community." 

"  Perhaps  so,  dear,"  answered  Rev.  Mother.  "  It 
is  bought;  and  something  must  be  done  with  it," 

Another  verified  prediction  of  Mother  Francis  was 
that  expected  Chicago  fire.  True  enough,  when  the 
city  was  actually  burned  down,  in  1871,  the  farm  was 
the  mainstay  of  the  Sisters.  Insurance  companies 
being  unable  to  meet  their  enormous  liabilities  with 


THE    SISTERS   OF    CHARITY,    B.    V.    M.  73 

them,  or  with  any  one  else,  the  sale  of  a  portion  of 
this  property  helped  to  cover  the  losses  caused  by  the 
burning  of  the  academy  on  Wabash  avenue,  built  by 
Mother  Francis  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

Beside  this,  stood  the  first  Convent  of  Mercy,  that 
had  also  been  an  academy,  old  St.  Xavier's,  then  a 
House  of  Providence  for  the  reception  of  poor  girls 
out  of  work  until  they  obtained  employment,  and  for 
girls  clerking  in  stores,  who  preferred  the  quiet  of  a 
home  conducted  by  the  Sisters  to  the  promiscuously 
crowded  boarding  houses  of  a  great  city.  Attached 
to  it  was  an  intelligence  office  for  procuring  situa- 
tions for  servants,  that  proved  a  blessing  to  all  con- 
cerned. Both  of  these  institutions  were  reduced  to 
heaps  of  ashes  by  one  of  the  fiercest  conflagrations 
the  world  has  ever  seen — the  burning  of  Chicago. 

Far-seeing,  provident  Mother  Francis!  The  fifty- 
acre  prairie,  the  breaking  of  which  she  superintended, 
is  now  a  splendid  suburb  of  the  city — boulevards, 
shaded  avenues,  princely  mansions  are  to  be  seen, 
where  the  sweat  of  her  brow  fell  on  the  soft  grass. 

By  further  exchanges  of  the  farm,  the  Sisters 
built,  and  are  gradually  paying  off  the  debt  on,  the 
present  St.  Xavier's  Academy,  whose  unique  propor- 
tions and  architectural  beauty  attract  the  attention 
and  win  the  admiration  of  every  beholder.  A  few 
acres  were  reserved  upon  which  to  erect  another  in- 
stitution that  has  since  become  necessary — a  noviti- 


74     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

ate,  away  from  the  noise  and  bustle  of  the  queen  city 
of  the  lakes, 

Concerning  the  farm,  it  may  be  remarked  that  a 
Mr.  Tim  Callaghan  and  his  wife,  Norry,  were  placed 
there  as  care-takers.  They  had  been  faithful  serv- 
ants, both  at  the  academy  and  hospital,  and  on  their 
marriage  Mother  Francis  gave  them  five  acres  of  the 
fifty,  to  cultivate  for  themselves.  She  unconsciously 
gave  them  a  fortune. 

Tim  died  when  their  second  son  was  born,  and  Mrs. 
Callaghan,  uncouth  as  she  was,  became  the  legal 
guardian  of  his  children.  In  the  course  of  time,  wid- 
owed Mrs.  Callaghan  and  her  surroundings  were 
considered  a  nuisance  in  the  rapidly  rising,  aristo- 
cratic neighborhood.  She  was  offered  a,  to  her,  fab- 
ulous sum  for  the  five  acres.  It  amazed  her  and 
surprised  the  Sisters.     The  farm  was  a  bonanza. 

"Is  it  sell  the  land  blessed  Mother  Francis 
deeded  to  Tim  Callaghan  and  me  you  mean?"  she 
asked  the  lawyer  deputed  by  aristocracy  to  buy  her 
out,  adding,  without  waiting  for  an  answer:  "  Not  a 
bit  of  it.  I'm  not  ready  to  sell,  and  I  don't  intend 
to  move,  as  the  place  is  my  own.  Maybe  you  un- 
derstand that." 

Mrs.  Callaghan  wisely  concluded  that,  if  he  was 
speaking  in  good  faith,  she  could  get  more  money 
for  it. 

Notwithstanding  her  refusal,  the  offer  was  repeat- 
ed, the  price  being  raised  with  each  offer,  until  wide- 


THE    8ISTEES    OF    CHARITY,  *B.    V.    M.  75 

awake  Norry  w;is  satisfied,  and  sold.  Her  two  sons, 
educated  a£  the  University  of  Notre  Dame,  Indiana, 
became  business  men  of  good  social  standing,  who 
always  revered  the  name  of  Mother  Francis,  their 
benefactress. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


ET.  REV.  JAMES  DUGGAN  BECOMES  BISHOP  OF  CHICAGO. 
PROPERTY  MATTERS  A  SOURCE  OP  DIFFICULTIES  FOR 
MANY  YEARS.  PROPOSAL  TO  PLACE  THE  ORPHAN 
ASYLUM  UNDER  THE  CONTROL  OF  LAYMEN,  REFUSED 
BY  MOTHER  FRANCIS.  THE  ASYLUM  GIVEN  TO  THE 
SISTERS  OF  ST.  JOSEPH.  REV.  JOHN  WALDRON,  THE 
FRIEND  OF  THE  SISTERS  OF  MERCY.  SALE  OF  PROP- 
ERTY NECESSITATES   REMOVAL   OF  THE  HOSPITAL. 

TN  1859,  Rt.  Rev.  James  Duggan  was  transferred 
-*-  from  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  to  the  diocese  of 
Chicago,  which  at  that  period  had  attained  vast  pro- 
portions. Of  imposing  presence,  gifted  with  courte- 
ous manners,  scholarly,  brilliant,  a  fine  pulpit  orator, 
Bishop  Duggan  soon  won  golden  opinions.  The 
hope  was  entertained  that,  under  his  sway,  pre- 
existing clerical  differences  would  disappear.  It  was 
not  to  be  so. 

During  the  early  part  of  his  ten  years  episcopacy, 
nothing  peculiar  was  noticed  in  him.  He  was  the 
most  popular  ecclesiastic  in  Chicago,  beloved  by 
Protestants  and  Catholics  alike.    Dressed  in  his  epis- 

(76) 


RT.    REV.    JAMES    DUGGAN.  77 

copal  robes,  in  his  private  carriage,  he  was  conspicu- 
ous in  the  funeral  cortege  of  Senator  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  and  duly  lauded  for  his  gracious  presence. 

When  the  dead  body  of  the  murdered  President, 
Abraham  Lincoln,  was  carried  through  the  land  in 
sad  and  solemn  procession,  Bishop  Duggan  conceived 
the  idea  that  Catholics — as  such — should  pay  honor 
to  his  remains.  He  accordingly  asked  Mother 
Francis,  with  whom  he  lived  on  terms  of  strictest 
friendship,  to  send  the  boarders  of  St.  Xavier's  to 
his  house  on  the  avenue,  in  mourning  costume. 

She  did  so.  Seventy-five  young  ladies  dressed  in 
white,  wearing  long  black  scarfs,  marshalled  them- 
selves on  either  side  of  the  Bishop,  who  stood  with 
uncovered  head  in  the  centre,  on  the  balcony  of  his 
residence,  before  which  the  half -military,  half -civic 
pageant  of  death  must  pass.  When  it  filed  by,  the 
group  on  the  balcony  was  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes. 
Bishop  Duggan's  unique  display  of  patriotism  was 
acknowledged  by  a  salute  of  artillery. 

In  recognition  of  Mother  Francis'  many  kindnesses, 
he  had  two  life-size  portraits  of  himself  painted  by 
Mr.  Healy,  the  celebrated  Chicago  artist,  one  of 
which  he  reserved  for  his  episcopal  palace;  the  other, 
adjudged  by  many  to  be  the  finer  of  the  two,  he 
presented  to  Mother  Francis,  who  had  it  conspicu- 
ously placed  in  the  reception  room  of  the  Academy. 
He  rarely  looked  at  either,  and  never  without  feeling 
a  depression  of  spirits. 


78     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

Several  religious  orders  of  men  and  women  had 
been  introduced  into  the  diocese — all  succeeded — all 
were  overtaxed  with  labor.  The  vacancies  made  by 
the  priests  who  left  during  Bishop  Vandevelde's 
incumbency,  were  not  yet  satisfactorily  filled.  The 
Bishop  could  not  please  every  one  in  his  appointments. 
Father  Chiniquy's  unfortunate  schism  at  Bourbon- 
nais,  gave  him  great  annoyance.  He  requested  Mother 
Francis  and  the  Sisters  to  join  with  him  in  prayer  for 
its  suppression.  They  did,  and  in  a  few  years  the 
deluded  people,  without  an  exception,  returned  to 
their  duty  as  Catholics. 

From  her  longer  residence  in  Chicago,  she  was 
sometimes  able  to  make  suggestions  of  which  he 
approved.  Yet  his  gentle  spirit  was  unable  to  cope 
with  the  difficulties  that  confronted  him.  A  marked 
excitability  in  his  manner  became  visible ;  and  thence- 
forth his  official  acts  gave  umbrage.  A  Sister,  sent  to 
him  on  business,  noticed  in  his  wildly -flushing  eye 
the  symptoms  of  insanity  She  remarked  it  to  Mother 
Francis,  who  was  inexpressibly  shocked,  although 
she  had  misgivings  of  his  condition.  This  unfortu- 
nate fact  explained  much  of  the  unpleasantness  that 
existed  during  his  latter  years  in  Chicago.  He  was 
not  morally  responsible  for  what  he  did.  In  1S69, 
his  mental  powers  were  so  wrecked  that  he  was  placed 
by  friends  in  an  institute  where  he  is  tenderly  cared 
for. 

As  Bishop  Quarter  died  intestate,  property  diffi- 


RT.    REV.   JAMES    DUGGAN.  <'» 

culties  began  in  Mother  Agatha's  time,  although  it 

was  known  that  he  intended  to  give  the  Sisters  real 
ate  in  North  Chicago  for  school  purposes.     His 

brother,  Father  William  Quarter,  gave  them  the  deed 
of  this  property  afterward.  In  looking  over  church 
affairs.  Bishop  Vandevelde  objected  to  this,  alleging 
that  the  ground  was  too  valuable  for  convent  build- 
ings. The  Sisters  refused  to  give  him  the  deed. 
Mother  Agatha,  who  was  charity  personified,  for 
peace  sake,  thought  of  yielding,  rather  than  have 
misunderstanding.  Mother  Francis  urged  her  to 
hold  the  ik^-<\.  as  the  Sisters  owned  no  other  prop- 
erty, and  this  rightfully  belonged  to  them;  so  she 
remained  firm. 

Afterwards,  Bishop  O'Regan,  to  compromise  mat- 
ters, gave  them  the  Wabash  Avenue  property  in  ex- 
change for  that  on  the  North  Side.  To  this  the 
Sisters  consented,  the  location  being  more  desirable 
for  an  Academy.  He  also  gave  them  the  site  of  the 
old  frame  church  on  the  West  Side,  where  they 
taught  a  parochial  school  for  many  years.  Dr. 
Denis  Dunn,  the  Vicar  General,  later,  wanted  this; 
-  .  after  some  negotiation,  he  deeded  to  them  two 
unoccupied  lots  adjoining  St.  Xaviers,  resuming  con- 
trol of  the  West  Side  lot.  During  these  different 
transactions,  Mother  Francis,  by  her  wise  counsels, 
assisted  in  keeping  the  community  property  safe. 
When  she  left  Chicago  to  come  to  Iowa,  the  Wab- 
ash Avenue  property  was  valued  at  two  thousand 
dollars  per  foot. 


80     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

The  condition  of  the  Orphan  Asylum  was  again 
commented  on  with  asperity.  It  was  full  of  children. 
There  was  no  fixed  revenue  for  their  support.  The 
Sisters  exerted  all  their  energies  to  keep  it  open — 
how  they  did  it  was  to  themselves  a  matter  of  sur- 
prise. In  fact,  but  for  the  generosity  of  a  few  ben- 
evolent individuals,  it  would  have  been  closed.  They 
could  not  turn  the  waifs,  adrift,  however,  so  worked 
on,  hoping  for  better  times. 

Despairing  of  assistance,  Mother  Francis  contem- 
plated building  an  asylum,  in  the  near  future,  with 
the  convent  funds;  as  it  was  well-nigh  impossible 
to  live  longer  in  the  dilapidated  house,  where  both 
Sisters  and  Orphans  were  huddled  together,  comfort- 
less and  non-sanitary.  When  either  got  sick,  as  fre- 
quently happened  under  the  circumstances,  there 
was  not  a  spare  room  to  put  them  in  for  care. 

The  Fairs  having  been  only  a  nominal  source  of 
revenue,  this  state  of  things  had  lasted  for  a  long 
term  of  years,  and  no  better  solution  of  the  difficulty 
was  given  than  ungenerous  commentary.  Mother 
Francis  bore  it  in  silence,  earnestly  entreating  the 
Sisters  to  continue  doing  their  duty  until  God  saw 
fit  to  help  them.  And  that  time  came,  though  differ- 
ently from  what  she  had  expected. 

It  is  well,  the  Redeemer  of  the  world,  proved  in 
His  own  Divine  Person,  that  our  best  intentions,  and 
fairest  actions,  are  sometimes  misapprehended,  pre- 
judged, and  condemned.     During  the  heats  of  twenty 


RT.    BEV.    JAMBS    DUQGAN.  81 

summers,  and  the  snows   of   twenty  winters,  she  had 

cared  tor  i1m>  Orphans,  and  supported  them  under 
wit  adverse  circumstances.  It  was  asserted,  per- 
haps without   reflection,  that   she  might   have  done 

more  for  them, 

Never  had  a  religious  woman  treated  Orphans 
with  more  unselfish  solicitude  than  she  did.     And  not 

only  the  Orphans,  but  the  worthless  parents  of  many 
an  outcast  child,  found  temporary  shelterin  the  poor 
asylum,  until  they  could  be  brought  to  a  better  frame 
of  mind  than  dissipation  had  plunged  them  into. 

More  than  once,  the  venerable  pastor  of  St.  John's 
Church.  Rev.  John  Waldron,  was  seen  bringing  an 
inebriate  father  and  mother,  followed  by  their  half- 
naked,  hungry  little  ones,  to  Mother  Francis,  with 
the  introductory  remark: 

"Here  they  are  again,  Mother  Francis!  For 
God's  sake,  let  them  stay  in  the  asylum  for  a  week. 
If  you  do  not,  I  must  take  them  to  the  Armory, 
where  they  will  be  known  as  my  parishioners.  I  am 
disgraced  enough  by  them  without  that.  It's  the 
third  time,  I  know.     But  what  can  I  do?  " 

With  a  serio-comic  look  at  the  well-known  delin- 
quents, Mother  Francis  would  say.  with  a  pang  at 
her  heart,  because  she  had  no  means  of  supporting 
such  people,  nor  room  for  them,  except  in  the  hall- 
ways of  the  asylum — which  they  occupied  too  fre- 
quently— "Oh!  yes,  Father,  they  can  stay,  although 
we  have   two  such   families   on  our    hands,  at    pres- 


82     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

ent,  similarly  recommended.  The  Armory  might  be 
a  more  effectual  place  of  penance  for  them,  undesir- 
able as  it  is.  But,  they  are  welcome  to  the  shelter 
of  the  asylum  for  a  week." 

"  Do  you  hear  what  Mother  Francis  says,  you  mis- 
guided creatures?  It  is  to  the  armory  I  ought  to 
bring  you,  not  here.  I  declare,  I  never  noticed  Mary 
had  a  black  eye  until  this  moment.  Aren't  you 
ashamed  of  yourself,  Mike?  Thanks,  Mother  Fran- 
cis, God  bless  you!''  And  to  the  asylum  they  went, 
while  the  good  Father  hurried  away  to  provide  for 
other  delinquents. 

Rev.  John  Waldron  was  always  a  devoted  friend 
to  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  who  taught  his  parochial 
school  when  it  was  in  a  quite  primitive  condition, 
and  continued  to  teach  it,  when,  thanks  to  his  untir- 
ing energy,  it  became  one  of  the  most  imposing  edi- 
fices in  the  city,  attended  by  more  than  a  thousand 
pupils.  He  knew  what  a  drain  the  Orphan  Asylum 
had  been  on  the  Sisters,  and  expressed  regret,  pub- 
licly and  privately,  that  they  had  not  been  more  gen- 
erously dealt  with  in  regard  to  it. 

Naturally,  matters  culminated.  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 
Duggan,  hearing  the  remarks  made  about  the  asy- 
lum, decided  to  place  it  in  control  of  a  board  of  lay 
directors,  the  Sisters  to  work  according  to  their  in- 
structions. To  this  arrangement  Mother  Francis 
would  not  agree,  anticipating  that  a  clash  of  opin- 
ions and  other  differences  would  be  the  result  of  a 
dual  management. 


BT.    BBV.    JAMES    DUGQAN.  83 

The  Bishop  then  offered  the  property  for  sale,  as 
the  Sisters  had  no  i\cr({  of  it,  and  in  two  days  a  pur- 
chaser was  found,  who  required  immediate  posses- 
sion. During  this  interval  h<>  further  decided  to  use 
the  new  building,  known  as  The  University  of  St. 
Mary  of  the  Lakes,  for  an  orphanage,  placing  it  in 
the  hands  of  a  St.  Louis  community,  who  assumed 
charge  in  1866,  and  removed  the  orphans  from  the 
old  asylum  there,  shortly  after  their  arrival  in  the 
city.   ' 

The  change  gave  intense  sorrow  to  Mother  Fran- 
cis and  the  Sisters.  However,  as  Bishop  Duggan's 
mental  condition  could  be  no  longer  doubted,  it  was 
deemed  advisable  not  to  remonstrate,  and  the  pro- 
ceeding was  submitted  to  in  silence.  After  that  the 
Bishop  failed  rapidly,  until  reason  fled,  This  change 
necessitated  another — the  removal  of  the  hospital  pa- 
tients, which  may  be  briefly  adverted  to. 

There  was  not  an  available  spot  to  to  take  them  to, 
yet  they  had  to  be  removed  in  two  days.  Repressing 
her  tears — for  she  wept  at  losing  the  orphans — 
Mother  Francis  acted  quickly.  The  boarders  from 
St.  Agatha's,  numbering  sixty-five,  were  brought  to 
St.  Xavier's  Aeadeiny  on  Wabash  avenue,  although  a 
large  number  of  other  pupils  were  in  daily  attend- 
ance, scant  accommodations  being  given  to  either 
Sisters  or  boarders.  Compelled  as  she  was  to  revo- 
lutionize the  existing  order  of  things,  she  could  do  no 
better. 


84     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MOXHOLLAND. 

Several  vehicles,  principally  express  wagons,  were 
hired  to  remove  to  St.  Agatha's  Seminary,  the  same 
day  that  the  pupils  left  it,  the  sick,  the  blind,  the 
lame,  the  bed-ridden  old  people,  deserted  and  cast 
out  by  their  friends,  and  long  known  as  "  The  Sis- 
ters' Pensioners."  for  whom  little  or  no  remuneration 
was  received.  At  all  times  the  hospital  was  a  refuge 
for  these  senile  unfortunates. 

Some  had  to  be  placed  on  stretchers:  others  prop- 
ped up  with  pillows  in  the  wagons.  Three  were  dy- 
ing— two  women  and  a  man.  These  Mother  Francis 
would  not  permit  the  hired  people  to  touch.  As- 
sisted by  the  Sisters,  she  helped  to  carry  them  out  of 
the  old  hospital,  placed  them  safely  in  the  wagons, 
repeating  the  prayers  for  the  dying  as  she  did  so, 
lest  they  should  pass  away  in  the  act  of  removal. 
Bedding,  furniture,  everything  that  the  Sisters  had 
purchased  was  taken  away,  and  the  summer  sun 
looked  down  in  splendor  on  the  mournful  scene. 

It  was  a  broiling  July  day,  and  the  wagons,  with 
their  living  freight  of  suffering  humanity,  at 
last  reached  St.  Agatha's,  which  was  thenceforth 
known  as  Mercy  Hospital.  The  building  was  in  good 
condition,  being  recently  erected,  but  is  completely 
eclipsed  by  the  magnificent  edifice  that  stands  be- 
side it  to-day,  dedicated  in  1870,  by  Kt.  Rev.  Bishop 
Foley,  of  pious  memory.  The  Mercy  Hospital,  once 
St.  Agatha's  Academy,  is  now  used  for  other  charita- 
ble purposes. 


RT.    REV.    JAMES    DUGGAN.  85 

Neither  Rev.  Mother  Agatha  nor  Rev.  Mother 
Francis  lived  to  Bee  the  marvelous  structure,  Eor  the 
existence  of  which  their  united  genius  and  foresight 
gave  a  raison  d'etre.  On  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
block,  the  ground  having  been  leased  to  them  by  the 
Sisters  without  rental,  the  doctors,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Dr.  N.  S.  Davis,  built  the  Chicago  Medical 
College  in  1809.  It  has  attained  a  continental  rep- 
utation, and  has  materially  added  to  the  prosperity 
of  the  hospital.  An  addition,  to  be  one  hundred  and 
eighty  feet  long,  five  stories  in  height,  costing  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  is  at  present  in  process 
of  erection. 

Getting  the  patients  into  the  new  hospital  was  a 
more  difficult  task  than  getting  them  out  of  the  old 
one.  They  were  prostrated  by  the  jarring  and  the 
jolting.  Mother  Francis,  who  had  not  partaken  of 
food  that  day,  saw  them  safely  placed,  carried  a  dy- 
ing girl  to  her  room  without  assistance,  had  dinner 
prepared  for  the  exhausted  Sisters  who  helped  to  do 
the  moving,  and  then  went  out  into  the  alley  to  re- 
cite her  I'osary.  She  had  "  meat  to  eat  they  knew 
not  of.:' 

Her  self-control  was  a  matter  of  surprise  to  those 
who  heard  of  the  transaction,  as  she  asked  no  assist- 
ance from  any  one,  and  the  double  change  was  ef- 
fected quietly  in  two  short  days.  Noticing  her  ab- 
sence from  the  r<  fectory,  ;i  Sister  who  went  in  search 
of  her  was  shocked  by  her  appearance.     Coif,  gifimp 


86     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

and  habit  were  wet  with  perspiration.  Her  face  was 
purple,  her  eyes  suffused  with  blood.  Over-exertion, 
pent-up  feelings  and  the  heat  had  brought  on  an  at- 
tack of  vertigo. 

Fortunately  there  was  a  tonic  at  an  open  window, 
which  Sister  compelled  her  to  drink  against  her  will. 
Without  it  she  might  have  dropped  dead  "Thank 
you,  darling,"  she  said  when  strength  returned. 
"  You  have  saved  my  life.  I  came  out  here  alone, 
to  ask  God's  holy  Mother  to  help  me  bear  my  cross." 

The  change  of  institutions  was  now  an  accom- 
plished fact,  and  the  routine  of  business  was  again  in 
working  order  for  the  Sisters  of  Mercy.  But,  Rev. 
Mother  Francis  long  mourned  for  the  orphans,  as 
did  the  Sisters  who  had  taken  care  of  them.  Bishop 
Duggan  and  she  did  not  meet  for  one  year  after  the 
change.  When  they  did  meet,  not  a  word  was 
spoken  by  either  about  the  past. 

He  remarked  to  a  mutual  friend,  privately,  that 
she  must  be  a  saint.  Her  forbearance  astounded 
him.  To  this  day,  in  his  secluded  retreat,  he  will 
sometimes  ask  if  Mother  Francis  is  not  coming  to  see 
him,  to  talk  over  certain  matters.  ■ 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  WAR.  BUILDING  DEFERRED.  FORT  SUMTER.  MISS 
NIGHTINGALE  AND  SISTERS  OF  MERCY.  LINCOLN'S 
CALL  FOR  TROOPS.  ANGELS  OF  THE  BATTLE  FIELD. 
SISTERS  AS  NURSES.  ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES'  OFFER 
REFUSED. 

ST.  XAVIER'S  Academy,  used  both  for  a  day 
and  boarding  school,  could  illy  accommodate 
both  classes  of  students,  numerically  too  large  for  it. 
To  dispense  with  either  department,  however,  was  out 
of  the  question;  so,  Mother  Francis  arranged  as  best 
she  could,  in  the  hope  that  a  wing  could  soon  be 
built — or  better,  a  new  Academy.  At  this  period, 
from  a  financial  stand-point,  St.  Xavier's  never  had 
such  an  unbroken  run  of  prosperity. 

From  1S61  to  1867,  the  daughters  of  many  wealthy 
Southerners,  whose  homes  had  been  destroyed 
during  the  conflict,  were  placed  in  Mother  Francis' 
care.  The  daughters  of  prominent  Unionists,  also, 
who  had  broken  up  their  establishments,  uncertain 
what  course  events  would  take,  were  taken  to  St. 
Xavier's  to  avoid  the  tumult  of  war.  Gold  was  at  a 
premium,  and  gold  flowed  into  the  treasury. 

(87) 


88      LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

Warm  disputes  on  the  slavery  question,  took  place 
occasionally  between  these  fair  young  girls,  brought 
unexpectedly  together  from  the  extreme  ends  of  the 
republic.  The  Southerners  favored  the  keeping  of 
slaves.  The  Northerners  opposed  it.  Embittered 
feelings  were  aroused,  which  Mother  Francis  and  the 
Sisters  found  it  difficult  to.  repress.  But,  eventually, 
the  girls  were  induced  to  leave  such  matters  to  their 
elders,  between  whom  God  would  declare  for  the 
right. 

To  return,  however,  Rev.  Mother  Francis  was  ar- 
ranging plans  for  the  new  building,  when  the  news 
of  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter  flashed  through  the  land. 
The  plan,  for  the  time,  was  necessarily  abandoned. 
The  citizens  of  Chicago  were  wild  with  excitement. 
The  whole  country  flew  to  arms.  War  could  no 
longer  be  averted.  The  Sisters  of  Mercy  in  their 
quiet  convent,  felt  the  shock  as  much  as  others. 

Colonel  Mulligan,  a  young  Irish  American  of  rare 
ability,  true  to  the  instincts  of  his  race,  organized 
the  "  Irish  Brigade  "  for  the  defense  of  the  Union, 
and  had  it  in  readiness  to  march  in  the  summer  of 
the  same  year.  Before  departing,  he  asked  Mother 
Francis  to  send  some  Sisters  with  him  to  act  as 
nurses.  The  men  under  his  command  being  nearly 
all  Catholics,  as  he  was  himself,  he  could  not  think  of 
letting  them  encounter  the  dangers  of  the  battle- 
field without  the  attendance  of  the  Sisters.  Mother 
Francis  acceded,  and  Colonel  Mulligan  proceeded  to 


THE   WAH.  89 

Lexington,    Missouri,    Leaving    Lieutenant    Shanley 
behind,  to  conduct  the  Sisters  to  that  point. 

Naturally  enthusiastic.    Rev.    Mother    infused  her 

own  enthusiasm  into  the  hearts  of  others.     She  spoke 

loquently  of  the    need    of    religious  nurses,  thai 

her  words  aroused  the  patriotism   of    the  Sisters,  and 

many  volunteered  for  the  perilous  work. 

In  1  of   Mercy,  from    Ireland  and 

England  ace    Nightingale,  and  Man- 

ley,  sister  of  the  famous  Dean  Stanley,  in  1 
pital  work  during  the  Crimean  "War.  The  former 
philanthropic  lady,  finding  it  impossible  to  manage 
the  English  volunteer  nurses,  who  flatly  refused  to 
cook,  wash,  or  iron,  or  to  do  anything  except  admin-' 
ister  medicine  to  the  sick  soldiers,  who  needed  nourish- 
ment more  than  drugs,  was  delighted  when  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy  arrived  to  help  nurse  those  who 
were  wounded  unto  death  while  preserving  the  honor 
of  the  British  flag.  The  Sisters  and  Miss  Nightin- 
gale were  frequently  associated  in  Hospital  work. 
Miss  Nightingale,  however,  received  all  the  glory — 
the  Sisters  being  left  quietly  in  the  shade. 

The  distinguished  Mary  Stanley  was  so  edified  by 
the  patience,  charity,    self-denial,  and    other  virt 
practiced  by  tin  in  the  Koulali  Hospitals,  of 

which  she  and  a  Miss  Hutton  had  charge,    that 
not  on!'  itrol  of  the   Hospitals    to  the 

>rs,  but,  trampling  u  the  prejudices  of  a 

life-time,  became  a    Roman   Catholic,  openly,   to  the 


90     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MAEY  MONHOLLAND. 

great  disgust  of  her  brother,  the  eccentric  Dean. 
The  Sisters  in  Chicago  remembered  these  things  in 
1861,  and  so  did  Mother  Francis. 

"Don't  forget  Florence  Nightingale  and  the  Sisters 
of  Mercy  on  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  seven  or 
eight  years  ago,  Mother  Francis,"  said  one  of  the 
nuns  who  did  not  volunteer  for  the  war.  "If  you 
go  South,  you  will  win  no  more  laurels  than  our 
Sisters  did  in  the  Crimea.  Some  Florence  Nightin- 
gale will  leave  you  to  do  the  work,  while  she  gets 
the  credit  of  it." 

The  words  though  spoken  in  jest,  moved  Mother 
Francis  to  say:  "The  Sisters  of  Mercy,  to-day,  in 
America,  whose  peace  is  threatened  by  the  internal 
dissensions  of  her  children,  are  animated  by  the 
same  spirit  that  sent  our  Irish  and  English  Sisters 
to  Scutari.  Koulali,  Balaklava,  and  other  places.  Do 
you  understand  that,  my  dear?" 

"Yes,  yes,  I  know,"  answered  Sister,  "That  is  true. 
But  there  is  more  to  be  thought  of.  There  are  two 
graves  on  a  hill-top,  visible  from  a  certain  point  on 
the  Black  Sea,  in  which  repose  the  mortal  remains  of 
two  Sisters  of  Mercy,  with  no  other  watchers  than 
the  unspeakable  Turk.  How  would  it  be  if  some  of 
our  volunteers  died  in  the  way  and  were  buried  in 
Confederate  graves?     I  am  a  Unionist,  remember." 

"We  will  all  be  buried  in  Unionist  graves,"  dear 
Sister,"  Mother  Francis  said  prophetically.  "The 
war  in  which  we  may  be  helpers,  leaving  the  glory 


THE   WAR.  91 

to  others,  and  keeping  ourselves  in  tin-  shade  will 
come  out  all  right."     And  it  did. 

President  Lincoln's  call  for  troops  met  with  a 
hearty  response  in  Illinois;  many  of  the  brothers 
and  husbands  of  St.  Xavier's  first  pupils  enlisting 
under  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  Few  of  them,  however, 
were  allowed  to  depart  before  receiving  the  blessing 
of  the  former  teacher  of  their  sisters  and  wives — 
Rev.  Mother  Francis. 

"God  bless  you,"  she  would  say  to  the  brave  men, 
equipped  for  war,  who  stood  before  her,  not  knowing 
whether  they  would  ever  see  home  or  friends  again. 
••God  bless  you.  Do  not  return  until  you  bring  us 
peace.  Then  we  will  be  proud  of  you.  Remember, 
that  love  of  country  is  akin  to  love  of  God."  Her 
warm  '"God  bless  you,"  cheered  many  a  heart  that 
never  after  throbbed  in  Illinois,  and  these  men.  in 
particular,  died  heroes.  The  war  went  on  with 
varying  successes  and  reverses,  until  there  was  a 
general  call  for  nurses.  Woman's  sympathy  was 
aroused.  Secular  nurses,  in  special  uniforms,  wended 
their  way  to  the  South  in  bands  and  companies. 
Many  of  them  did  charitable,  serviceable  work. 
Many  of  them  did  not. 

When  the  novelty  of  the  thing  was  over  they  got 
tired  of  it.  There  was  nothing  particularly  gratify- 
ing to  human  nature  in  obeying  strangers,  no  better 
than  themselves — they  forgot  the  soldiers  had  to  do 
it — in   being  deprived  of    rest  for  whole   days  and 


92      LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

nights  together;  in  receiving  no  remuneration  for 
hard  toil — enthusiasm  had  not  extinguished  the  love 
of  the  almighty  dollar;  in  being  obliged  to  attend 
the  rank  and  file,  as  well  as  the  stylish  Commander. 
A  large  number  of  them  became  discouraged,  and 
returned  to  their  homes.  Many  honorable  excep- 
tions refused  to  return,  and  remained. 

Fortunately  for  the  soldiers  the  Sisters  appeared 
upon  the  scene  and  were  warmly  welcomed.  They 
did  not  tire  of  the  laborious  nursing.  They  did  not 
work  for  pay,  but  for  the  love  of  God  and  suffering 
humanity.  Most  assuredly  the  Sisters'  services  dur- 
ing the  war  were  forgotten  when  the  laurels  were 
distributed  at  its  close.  If  President  Lincoln  had 
not  been  assassinated,  it  might  have  been  otherwise, 
because  he  was  just  and  generous,  and  had  a  prefer- 
ence for  them. 

Besides  the  Sisters,  Sanitary  Commissions,  wear- 
ing badges  and  displaying  diplomas,  continued  as 
nurses.  But  they  did  not  labor  as  the  Sisters  did — 
had  no  desire  to.  In  confirmation  whereof,  the  fol- 
lowing is  quoted  from  the  pen  of  a  western  journal- 
ist: 

"Angels  of  the  Battlefield.     . 

"At  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  in  this  land, 
Archbishop  Hughes,  of  New  York,  tendered  to  the 
United  States  authorities  the  services  of  one  hundred 
Sisters  of  Charity  for  the  military  hospitals.  The 
generous  offer  was  politely  refused,  and  a  whole  com- 


THE  WAR.  93 

pan)  of  young  ladies  from  Boston,  Philadelphia  and 
other  centers  of  culture  and  fashion  assumed  the  red 

cross,  and  donned  the  serge  habit  of  the  Order  of 
Patriotic  Nurses. 

"But  the  battle  of  Bull  Run  crowded  the  army 
ambulances,  and  town  halls  and  private  residences, 
as  well  as  public  buildings,  were  made  to  serve  as 
hospitals.  The  cultured  ladies  soon  tired  of  the 
work,  or  neglected  the  poor  soldier  in  order  to  be- 
stow all  attention  on  the  pretentious  officer.  How- 
ever it  happened,  certain  it  is  that  President  Lincoln 
telegraphed  Archbishop  Hughes  to  send  on  two 
hundred  Sisters  of  Charity  to  the  seat  of  war.  And 
they  were  sent. 

"  After  the  fight  at  Antietam,  Old  Abe  wrote  per- 
sonally to  thank  the  Archbishop,  and  beg  that  His 
Grace  would  send,  not  only  two  hundred,  but  two 
thousand,  if  it  were  possible  to  find  that  many  angels 
on  the  earth." 

As  well  as  memory  serves,  the  Sisters  of  Mercy 
from  Chicago  were  among  the   first   religious  women 

o  o  o 

who  volunteered  to  act  as  nurses  during  the  rebel- 
lion. Simultaneously  with  them  appeared,  also,  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy  from  Baltimore,  Maryland — tie- 
Sisters  of  Mercy  from  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania — 
the  Sisters  of  Charity  (white  cornets)  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul,  from  Maryland — the  Sisters  of  Charity 
(  Mother  Beton's)  sent  from  New  York  by  Archbishop 
Hughes — the   Sisters   of   Holy    Cross,    from    South 


94     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MAEY  MONHOLLAND. 

Bend,  Indiana — giving  to  the  nation  a  corps  of  Cath- 
olic Sisterhoods,  who  helped  to  alleviate  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  soldiers,  whether  Unionists  or  Secession- 
ists. 

After  the  rejection  of  Archbishop  Hughes'  offer, 
Mother  Francis'  great  heart  took  the  initiative.  She 
organized  a  band  of  thirty  secular  women  to  assist 
the  Sisters  in  the  Southern  hospitals,  whither  they 
were  called  by  the  soldiers  of  Illinois.  Nor  did  she 
permit  them  to  travel  alone  among  the  guerilla  bands 
that  were  scouring  the  country,  arousing  terror 
wherever  they  passed.  She  accompanied  them 
through  the  wilds  of  Missouri.  They  suffered  no 
hardships  she  did  not  share.  No  ideas  of  personal 
discomfort,  no  fear  of  difficulties,  could  deter  her 
when  the  peace  of  her  adopted  country  was  at 
stake. 


CHAPTER  X. 


MR.   LANTRY.   A  ST.  LOUIS  BOY.   THE  JEFFERSON 

WABDBN.     BRECKINRIDGE DOUGLAS   HOSPITAL. 

FIRE  IN  CAMP.   GENERAL  FREMONT  AND  THE  SISTERS 
OF  MERCY. 

SOME  experiences  of  the  Sisters  will  bear  relat- 
ing. Rev.  Mother  Francis  \v;is  with  the  Sisters 
when  they  went  to  Missouri.  As  they  were  passing 
through  the  Streets  of  St.  Louis,  going  from  one 
depot  to  another,  under  the  chaperonage  of  Mr. 
Lantry,  of  Chicago,  appointed  by  Lieutenant  Shanley 
to  escort  them  safely  through  the  crowds  of  sight- 
seers, they  met  with  a  somewhat  impolite  reception. 
Colonel  James  Mulligan,  for  the  service  of  whose 
regiment  the  Sisters  were  engaged,  was  Mr.  Lantry's 
step-son. 

The  St.  Louis  mob  jeered  at  the  Sisters'  poke 
bonnets  and  long  cloaks;  made  fun  of  the  hoods 
worn  by  the  secular  nurses;  and,  in  general,  indulged 
in  merriment  at  the  expense  of  the  travelers  from 
Chicago.  Mr.  Lantry,  whose  position  entirely  pre- 
occupied him,    paid   no  attention  to  their  rudeness, 


96     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MOXHOLLAND. 

until  a  lad  in  the  crowd  exclaimed  as  Mother  Francis 
passed  him:  "  Oh.  boys!  it's  goin  to  be  a  great  war. 
sure  as  you're  born.     Here's  the  priesters." 

Mr.  Lantry,  who  kept  close  to  Mother  Francis, 
turned  on  him.  "  You  young  rascal!  "  he  said  sav- 
agely, "  these  are  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  from  Chicago. 
If  you  say  another  word  about  them,  I'll  break  your 
head.  Be  careful  what  you  say  about  priests,  too. 
That's  the  name,  it  isn't  priesters." 

The  boy  collapsed;  Mother  Francis"  face  became 
scarlet;  the  Sisters  tried  hard  to  refrain  from  laugh- 
ing; Mr.  Lantry  walked  placidly  on.  Neither  were 
any  further  remarks — complimentary  or  otherwise — 
uttered  within  his  hearing.  The  party  then  pro- 
ceeded to  Jefferson,  whence  they  expected  to  start 
for  Lexington.  The  rebels,  however,  were  massing 
in  force  along  the  river;  so  that,  although  an  attempt 
was  made  to  reach  their  destination,  it  had.  to  be 
abandoned.  The  Sisters  remained  in  Jefferson,  in 
charge  of  the  City  Hospital,  which  was  rilled  with 
sick  and.  wounded  soldiers,  until  the  Spring  of  1803. 

The  city  authorities,  hearing  of  the  Sisters'  dis- 
appointment at  not  being  able  to  reach  Lexington, 
turned  it  to  their  own  advantage  by  requesting  them 
to  take  charge  of  the  Jefferson  Military  Hospital. 
General  Fremont  visited  them  there,  and  gave  them 
liberal  supplies  for  the  sick.  He  was  a  typical,  large- 
hearted  American  on  all  occasions,  but  especially 
during  the  war,  in  his  relations  with  the  soldiers. 


A    ST.    LOUIS    BOY.  1*7 

The  first  oighl  the  Sisters  were  ia  the  Jefferson 
City  Hospital,  in  passing  along  the  corridor  tli.tt  led 
to   the   apartments   allotted   to   them,    Rev.  Mother 

Francis,  who  walked  last,  noticed  at  an  open  door  a 
group  of  Hospital  wardens  staring  at  the  Sisters  in 
evident  bewilderment.  "  Who  are  these  outlandish 
looking  people,  anv  way?"  remarked  one  of  the  men. 
" If  they  are  coming  to  run  this  hospital,  we  don't 
want  them,  (iness  we  can  get  along  without  papii 
and  we  will,  too." 

Rev.  Mother  being  the  only  Chicagoan  who  dis- 
tinctly caught  his  words,  took  the  resolution,  to  re- 
main up  for  the  night,  weary  though  she  was  with 
long  travel.  The  Sisters,  and  their  assistants,  retired 
early.  She  kept  guard.  The  brutal  treatment  the 
Sisters  received  during  the  Philadelphia  riots,  the 
outrages  perpetrated  at  the  Chariest  own  convent,  and 
other  [daces,  flashed  through  her  mind.  She  did  not 
undress.  At  midnight,  a  step  sounded  in  the  corri- 
dor, a  knock  was  heard  at  the  door.  "  Who  is  there  ?" 
she  controlled  herself  to  ask,  slowly,  sternly.  "  I 
am  there,"  answered  the  onmistakeable  voice  of  the 
warden.     "  Open,  or  it  will  be  worse  for  you."' 

"I  recognize  your  voice,  and  will  report  you  to  the 
proper  officer  in  the  morning,  both  for  this  ill-timed 
visit  and  your  insolence  this  evening.  We  Sisters 
of  Mercy  have  full  control  of  this  hospital."  she  said 
decisively,  but  without  awakening  the  sleepers,  who 
would  have  been  alarmed  had  they  heard  her  words. 


98      LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

The  warden,  making  some  unintelligible  threat, 
turned  on  his  heel  and  walked  away.  Rev.  Mother 
was  as  good  as  her  word,  and  reported  the  occurrence 
to  the  officer  in  command,  who  sent  the  fellow  to 
other  quarters.  Thenceforth  the  Sisters  were  treat- 
ed as  deferentially  as  queens.  In  the  chances  of 
warfare  the  warden  came  again  into  contact  with  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy.  He  was  shot  by  a  skirmishing 
party,  brought  back  to  the  hospital,  and  begged  pit- 
eously  for  the  Sisters  to  attend  him. 

Sister  M.  Alphonsus,  who  was  left  in  charge  when 
Rev.  Mother  Francis  returned  to  Chicago,  waited  on 
him  with  unremitting  charity;  told  him  there  was  no 
hope  for  him,  he  must  die;  begged  him  to  remember 
God  and  his  soul.  He  had  a  hard  name  among  his 
comrades.  She  learned  from  Mother  Francis  that 
he  was  the  man  who  insulted  her  the  night  of  their 
arrival  in  Jefferson.  She  learned  from  others  that 
he  was  a  rabid  Irish  Orangeman.  Her  prayers  pre- 
vailed. Her  charity  was  rewarded.  The  dying 
Orangeman  acknowledged  that,  hating  Catholics 
from  his  boyhood,  he  had  purposely  insulted  the 
Sisters. 

"Knowing  now,"  he  said,  "  that  you  make  no  dis- 
tinction of  persons  in  waiting  on  the  soldiers,  what- 
ever be  their  creed,  I  have  changed  my  mind,  and 
believe  your  faith  must  be  the  true  one.  Mine, 
which  is  the  essence  of  hatred,  certainly  can  not  be." 
He  received  baptism  and  the  other  sacraments,  a  few 


\    ST.    LOUIS    BOY.  99 

hours  before  his  death,  and  amply  apologised  I'm' the 
annoyance  he  gave  to  Mother  Francis. 

This  was  not  a  solitary  instance  of  changed  opin- 
ion- and  conversions  daring  the  ministrations  of  the 
Sisters  in  the  Southern  hospitals.  There  were  many 
Bach.  Having  been  the  firsl  religious  women  ever 
seen  in  Jefferson,  they  were  regarded  with  suspicion. 
both  in  the  hospital  and  out  of  it.  for  a  short  time. 
Their  devotion  to  the  sick  soldiers,  however,  added 
to  the  care  they  took  of  the  dying,  without  regard  to 
race  or  creed,  soon  won  for  them  general  confidence. 
The  Jeffersonians  became  their  staunchest  friends 
when  the  jaundiced  eyes  of  prejudice  were  opened  to 
the  light. 

As  Colonel  Mulligan,  although  making  a  gallant 
resistance,  was  compelled  to  surrender  Lexington  to 
General  Price,  in  September,  L861-,  the  Jefferson  < 
hospital  was  tilled  with  wounded  men- — staunch 
Unionists  and  chivalrous  Southerners — who  thanked 
God  that  the  Sisters  were  there  to  care  for  them. 
Rev.  Mother  Francis  was  obliged  to  return  to  Chi- 
cago; nevertheless,  if  circumstances  permitted,  she 
would  willingly  have  remained  in  Jefferson  to  help 
the  Sisters. 

During  the  winter  she  sent  them  provisions,  and 
heard  of  the  good  they  were  effecting  through  .Mis. 
Colonel  Mulligan,  who  visited  them  with  her  hus- 
band, after  his  submission  and  parole,  before  return- 
ing to  Chicago.      Rev.  Mother  was  moved  to  tears  at 


100    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

the  recital  of  brave  Colonel  Mulligan's  sufferings  and 
thrilling  adventures,  as  told  by  his  accomplished 
wife,  who  shared  them  with  him.  Of  himself  or  his 
military  exploits  the  unassuming  young  officer  did 
not  speak,  although  the  country  was  ringing  with  his 
praises. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  impressive  services  ever 
held  in  St.  Mary's  Church,  Chicago,  was  the  requiem 
mass  for  the  repose  of  his  soul.  His  remains  rested 
on  an  elegantly  draped  catafalque  before  the  altar, 
during  the  solemn  ceremonies,  at  which  Rev.  Mother 
Francis  and  the  Sisters  assisted. 

When  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  from  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land, took  charge  of  the  Washington,  D.  C.  Hospital, 
which  had  been  enlarged  by  opening  communication 
between  two  fine  mansions — one  formerly  owned  by 
John  C.  Breckenridge,  the  distinguished  U.  S. 
Senator,  the  other  by  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  ante- 
bellum candidate  for  the  Presidency — there  were 
often  so  many  men  to  care  for,  that  provisions  ran 
short,  and  additional  supplies  were  refused.  It  must 
be  remembered,  however,  that  the  government  at 
Washington  had  immense  armies  of  men  to  provide 
for. 

"The  soldiers  shall  not  want  for  food,  if  it  is  to 
be  had  for  the  asking,"  said  the  Sister  in  charge, 
during  one  of  these  emergencies.  "I  will  go  this 
moment  to  Secretary  Stanton,  and  insist  on  sufficient 
food  being  sent  to  the  Hospital." 


GENERAL   FREMONT.  101 

The  War  Office  not  being  far  away,  the  Sister  of 
Mercy  soon  appeared  before  the  Secretary  pleading 
for  the  soldiers.  "  Madam,  I  can  not  furnish  more 
rations  during  the  current  month,"  Mr.  Stanton  said 
curtly.  "Give  each  man  less,  aud  you  can  get  along 
well  enough  with  what  you  have."  His  attention 
having  been  previously  called  to  the  matter,  by 
letter,  ineffectually,  she  quietly  asked:  "Is  that 
your  final  decision,  Mr.  Stanton?  Because,  if  it  is, 
I  shall  apply  to  the  President.  We  will  not  let  the 
soldiers  suffer  from  hunger." 

Without  answering,  Mr.  Stanton  turned  to  other 
callers,  and  Sister  left  to  find  the  President,  to  whom 
the  wants  of  the  soldiers  were  again  explained, 
together  with  Mr.  Stanton's  refusal  to  supply  them. 
The  President  listened,  and  wrote: 

"To  all  whom  it  may  concern.  On  application  of 
the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  in  charge  of  the  Military 
Hospital  in  Washington,  furnish  such  provisions  as 
they   desire    to    purchase,  and    charge  same  to  the 

War    Department. Abraham    Lincoln."      For 

which  humane  order,  he  received  sincere  thanks. 

With  this  in  her  possession,  the  empty  store-rooms 
were  soon  replenished,  and  the  invalid  veterans  gave 
cheer  after  cheer  for  the  great  President,  not  for- 
getting their  nurses.  The  Sisters  of  Mercy  in 
Missouri,  whether  at  Jefferson,  or  on  the  floating 
Hospital,  had  no  occasion  to  complain  of  shortage  of 
any  kind,  being  abundantly  provided  with  all  things 


102  LIFE    OF     MOTHER    MARY    MONHOLLAND. 

necessary  for  the  sufferers  committed  to  their  care; 
part  of  which  was  sent  by  Mother  Francis  from 
Chicago. 

Once,  a  fire  broke  out  in  the  long  line  of  Camp 
Hospitals  erected  in  the  vicinity  of  Washington. 
The  canvas  tents  were  ablaze  in  a  moment.  The 
shrieks  of  the  maimed  occupants  were  pitiful.  The 
Sisters  of  Charity,  as  well  as  the  guards,  carried  out 
as  many  as  they  could  from  the  burning  enclosure, 
and  two  Sisters  were  found  among  the  charred  and 
blackened  corpses  on  the  morrow — true  heroines  of 
the  Hospital  Service.  A  Sister  of  Mercy  from  the 
Donglas-Breckenridge  Hospital,  seeing  the  flames, 
and  hearing  the  shrieks,  went  to  their  assistance  to 
help  as  she  could.  Her  life,  directly,  or  indirectly, 
was  the  forfeit  of  the  efforts  she  made  daring  that 
night  of  horrors,  to  save  human  beings  from  crema- 
tion. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  summer  of  1862,  the  Fed- 
eralists in  Jefferson  City  received  orders  to  join  an- 
other division.  This  order  closed  the  City  Hospital, 
and  the  Sisters  ignorant  of  the  whereabouts  of 
Colonel  Mulligan,  prepared  to  return  to  Chicago. 
They  were  met  in  the  way  by  a  Sanitary  Commission- 
er, who  induced  them  to  take  charge  of  a  steam-boat 
Hospital,  that  was  conveying  to  different  points, 
where  they  could  be  properly  cared  for,  the  men 
who  had  fallen  on  the  bloody  field  of  Shiloh.  Sister 
M.  Alphonse,  wrote  to  Mother  Francis  for  permission 


GENERAL    FREMONT.  103 

to  accept  the  charge,  and  soon  received  it,  although 
living  on  a  steam- boat  was  to  be  a  new  experience. 
General  Fremont  was  in  command  of  the  Western 
Department,  hard  fighting  was  taking  place  on  the 
Mississippi.  The  confederates  poured  shot  like  hail- 
stones on  the  Federal  gun-boats  that  swarmed  in  the 
river.  Finding  the  Sisters  on  board  of  the  "  Em- 
press," where  soldiers  were  falling  in  quick  succession 
during  the  cannonade,  General  Fremont  held  one  of 
the  Sisters  before  him,  as  a  talesman  and  a  shield. 
He  believed  her  presence  would  ward  off  his  death- 
blow. The  dauntless  Sister  of  Mercy,  Sister  M.  Al- 
phonsus,  who  had  been  Superior  of  the  Jefferson 
Hospital,  neither  fainted  nor  fled,  she  only  prayed; 
and  who  can  tell  whether  her  prayer  did  not  save  the 
life  of  the  great  General,  who  escaped  unhurt. 

He  was  the  only  man  on  the  boat,  at  all  events, 
who  was  not  struck  by  a  bullet.  However  it  may  be 
explained,  the  fact  '  stands.  Sister  M.  Alphonsus 
succumbed,  after  passing  through  a  thousand  perils, 
and  sleeps  in  her'  silent  grave  in  a  Chicago  cemetery 
to-day.  General  Fremont  withstood  the  shock  of 
battle.  He  always  remembered  with  the  kindliest 
feelings  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  whom  he  first  met  in 
Jefferson,  and  they  so  remembered  him. 

The  surviving  soldiers  of  the  war  did  not  forget 
what  they  owed  to  the  Sisters,  careful  nursing,  re- 
stored health,  life,  everything.  The  War  Depart- 
ment did  forget   to   recognize   the    Sisters'  services. 


104         LIFE    OF    MOTHElt    MARY    MONHOLLAND. 

Was  it  obliviousness  of  charitable  help  given  to  the 
country  in  the  hour  of  her  sorest  need  ?  Was  it  the 
spirit  of  intolerance?  There  exists  One  Who  knows. 
However,  the  soldier's  fervent:  "God  bless  the 
Sisters  who  nursed  us  in  the  war!"  whenever  they 
met  them  afterwards,  in  their  homes,  on  the  streets, 
in  the  hospitals,  outweighed  the  Department's  forget- 
fulness  of  woman's  unselfish,  unrequited  toil. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


THE  SISTERS  KETUEN  FROM  THE  WAR.  COLONEL 
SWEET  AND  CAMP  DOUGLAS.  GENEROUS  BUSINESS 
MEN  OF  CHICAGO.  MOTHER  FRANCIS  VISITS  THE 
CAMP.  ADA  SWEET.  MILITARY  SERENADES.  A 
FALLING  HOUSE   KILLS    MANY   PERSONS. 

THE  Sisters  continued  to  discharge  hospital  duty 
on  the  "Empress"  until  all  the  men  of  both 
armies,  sick  or  wounded,  were  removed  from  Shiloh. 
Within  the  narrow  confines  of  a  steam -boat,  it  was  no 
easy  task  to  nurse  the  poor  fellows,  whose  surround- 
ings were  far  from  agreeable.  The  Sisters  did  it  by 
ignoring  the  surroundings;  pretending  not  to  see 
things  that  had  better  not  be  seen ;  paying  no  at- 
tention to  language  that  had  better  not  be  heard — 
river  men  are  not  usually  choice  in  their  language. 
In  other  words,  the  Sisters  kept  aloof  as  much  as 
possible,  minding  their  own  business,  which  was  car- 
ing for  the  sick;  and  so  gained  an  ascendancy  over 
these  rough  spirits,  that  could  not  be  gained  by  up- 
braiding them.  In  a  few  days  they  were  treated 
with  the  greatest  respect,  and   in  their   presence  in- 

(105) 


106     LIFE  OF  MOTHEE  MARY  MOXHOLLAND. 

decorus  language  ceased.  Their  stay  on  the  "Em- 
press" extended  to  many  weeks. 

Rev.  Mother  Francis  could  not  hold  frequent 
communication  with  the  Sisters  after  they  left  Jeffer- 
son, on  account  of  the  disturbed  state  of  the  country ; 
and  fears  for  their  safety  caused  her  much  anxiety. 
They  came  home  to  her  at  last,  sick,  and  worn  out 
from  incessant  toil.  Sister  M.  Alphonsus  never  en- 
joyed good  health  after.  The  secular  nurses  were 
discharged  to  their  great  joy,  as  the  war  had  no 
attraction  for  them,  other  than  to  help  the  Sisters. 

In  1864,  the  long  contemplated  Academy  was 
built.  It  was  a  splendid  structure,  fitted  up  with  all 
modern  improvements,  and  was  filled  with  pupils  as 
soon  as  opened.  Among  them  were  many  young 
Hebrews  belonging  to  some  of  the  wealthiest  families 
in^ Chicago.  A  prominent  Rabbi  became  alarmed; 
visited  the  school-rooms  of  new  St.  Xavier's ;  noted 
the  faces — many  of  them  lovely  ones — of  the  mem- 
bers of  his  synagogue  with  the  intention  of  with- 
drawing them  from  the  Academy;  but  changed  his 
mind  before  concluding  the  visit,  and  suffered  th^m 
to  remain. 

The  Jews  of  Chicago  were  always  warm  friends 
of  Rev.  Mother  Francis,  and  the  Sisters  who  taught 
their  children.  They  gave  large  patronage  to  Mercy 
Hospital,  also,  before  their  own  Hospital  was  built. 
And  not  a  few  of  their  bankers  declared  that  Mother 
Francis   was  as    good    a   financier  as  any  of  them. 


CAMP    DOUGLAS.  107 

Seven  years  from  the  date  of  its  erection,  the  beauti- 
ful Academy  was  a  heap  of  smoldering  ruins.  It 
was  one  of  the  last  buildings  in  Chicago  to  go  down 
in  the  great  fire.  Mother  Francis,  however,  did  not 
see  either  the  fire,  or  the  ruin.  She  was  then  two 
years  in  Iowa. 

During  the  greater  part  of  this  year,  companies  of 
Federal  troops,  shoeless,  hatless,  coatless  very  often; 
with  squads  of  rebel  prisoners,  handcuffed  singly, 
or  in  pairs,  in  the  same  destitute  condition,  were 
crowding  into  Chicago  from  the  different  depots, 
marching  to  Camp  Douglas.  All  the  glory  and 
panopoly  of  war  had  departed  from  these  proces- 
sions. The  Sisters  could  not  avoid  seeing  them,  as 
the  Academy  was  situated  on  Wabash  Avenue,  which 
led  almost  directly  to  the  Camp. 

Rev.  Mother  Francis'  sympathies  went  out  to  the 
disabled  men  who  had  fought  and  bled  for  fatherland. 
Camp  Douglas,  in  a  southern  suburb  of  the  city, 
was  then  in  charge  of  Colonel  Sweet,  of  Wisconsin, 
and  it  leaked  out  that  the  men  over  whom  he  had 
control  might  be  more  humanely  treated.  It  was 
reported  there  was  no  food  in  camp.  Chicago  has 
always  been  a  cosmopolitan  city,  all  shades  of  opin- 
ions— political  and  otherwise — all  nationalities  being 
represented  there.  During  the  rebellion,  Southerners 
congregated  in  Chicago,  enlisting  sympathy.  The 
under-current  of  feeling  was  strong.  And,  as  invalid 
soldiers  of  both  opposing  armies  were  to  be  found  in 


108    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAXD. 

Camp  Douglas,  a  general  indignation  meeting  was 
held,  at  which  resolutions  were  passed  that  a  com- 
mittee of  investigation  be  appointed  to  visit  the 
camp,  and  see  how  matters  stood. 

When  the  committee  appeared  before  the  gate, 
Colonel  Sweet  refused  them  admission.  To  force  an 
entrance,  in  spite  of  him,  being  out  of  the  question, 
they  withdrew,  leaving  their  mission  unfulfilled. 
But  Americans  would  not  allow  Americans,  whether 
by  birth  or  adoption,  to  suffer  for  want  of  the  neces- 
saries of  life,  which  was  said  to  be  the  case  here. 
The  disappointed  committee  men  called  upon  Mother 
Francis  to  ask  her  to  send  Sisters  to  visit  the  camp. 
Two  days  before  a  large  number  of  prisoners  had  been 
taken  there. 

"  Colonel  Sweet  will  not  refuse  to  admit  you,  as  he 
refused  to  admit  us,  Mother  Francis,"  they  said. 
"We  only  wish  to  know  whether  want  really  exists 
there  or  not;  in  order  to  relieve  it,  if  it  does." 

It  was  an  open  secret  that  many  smpathizers  with  the 
Confederates  resided  in  Chicago,  and  Colonel  Sweet 
may  have  had  solid  reasons  for  refusing  to  let  men, 
of  whom  he  had  no  knowledge,  visit  the  camp.  At 
one  time,  in  fact,  a  few  leading  citizens,  with  their 
partizans.  were  arrested  in  Chicago  and  conveyed  to 
places  where  they  were  kept  under  surveillance  for 
expressing  opinions  adverse  to  the  Northern  cause 
too  unguardedly.  In  a  few  instances,  ammunitions 
for  the  South,  found  in  private  dwellings,  were  seized 


CAMP    DOUGLAS.  109 

by  Colonel  Sweet  before  they  could  be  forwarded  to 
intended  points;  which  seizures  lessened  his  popu- 
larity with  the  disaffected. 

A  general  uprising  between  Federals  and  Secession- 
ists, was  feared  in  Chicago  during  the  early  part  of 
Colonel  Sweet's  government  of  Camp  Douglas;  so 
that,  for  a  moment,  Mother  Francis  hesitated  to  ac- 
cede to  the  request  of  the  committee,  who  noticed  her 
hesitancy,  and  urged  her  to  make  the  visit.  Re- 
membering how  kindly,  even  chivalrously,  the  Sisters 
were  treated  in  the  Sourthern  Hospitals,  she  said  at 
last:  "  We  will  do  what  you  ask,  gentlemen,  and  will 
try  to  succeed  where  you  have  failed.  But,  since 
there  are  hundreds  of  men  in  the  camp,  and  suppos- 
ing there  is  a  shortage  of  food,  how  are  we  to  help 
them?"  The  committee  had  thought  of  this,  and 
appealed  to  the  citizens  for  supplies.  A  couple  of 
wagons  laden  with  viands  of  every  description  soon 
appeared  at  the  convent,  with  which  generous  supply, 
two  other  Sisters  and  herself  proceeded  to  Camp 
Douglas. 

It  may  be  remarked,  that  the  business  men  of 
Chicago  are  among  the  most  liberal  alms-givers  of 
the  world.  Irrespective  of  creed  or  nationality,  they 
are  seldom  asked  for  help,  in  vain,  At  the  special 
seasons — Christmas,  New  Years,  Easter — bankers, 
merchants,  and  traders  generally,  make  it  a  point  to 
remember  the  institutions  that  care  for  the  poor — 
hospitals,  asylums,  all  charities,    Protestant  and  Cat- 


110    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

holic  alike.  Nor  are  the  bashful  poor  in  their  hum- 
ble homes  forgotten.  Therefore,  if  the  promise: 
"  Not  even  a  cup  of  cold  water  given  in  My  Name, 
will  go  unrewarded,"'  still  holds  true — and  it  does — 
may  not  the  unprecedented  prosperity  of  the  men 
who  control  the  commercial  interests  of  the  great 
city — to  be  known  for  all  times  as  the  site  of  the 
Columbian  Exposition  of  1893 — be  in  part  attribu- 
table to  their  generous  alms-giving. 

In  the  pioneer  era,  when  squatters  struggled  to  ob- 
tain a  foot-hold  in  the  vicinity  of  old  Port  Dearborn, 
barter  with  the  Indians  constituted  the  "  Board  of 
Trade"  for  many  years.  But,  when  the  golden  har- 
vests of  the  great  North-West,  assured  to  Chicago  a 
place  in  the  foremost  marts  of  the  world,  her  mer- 
chant princes  did  not  forget  "  the  hewers  of  wood, 
and  drawers  of  water,"  who  helped  to  build  up  her 
proud  pre-eminence. 

The  sentry  who  answered  the  Sisters'  call  at  Camp 
Douglas,  declared,  he  had  positive  orders  to  refuse 
admission  to  Chicago  visitors. 

"  We  are  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  and  would  like  to 
visit  the  sick  soldiers,  if  Colonel  Sweet  permits," 
suggested  Mother  Francis. 

"  Sorry,  Sisters,  that  you  cannot  enter,"  he  re- 
plied.    "You  know  military  orders  must  be  obeyed." 

"  I  will  see  about  it,"  said  Mother  Francis,  quietly 
directing  the  man  in  whose  carriage  she  was  seated, 
to  drive  to  the  Mayor's  office  for  redress. 


CAMP    DOUGLAS.  Ill 

Chicago's  chief  magistrate  received  the  Sisters 
graciously;  and,  surprised  at  Colonel  Sweet's  action, 
wrote  him,  that,  under  the  circumstances,  it  would 
be  politic,  and  silence  unfavorable  reports,  if  he  ad- 
mitted the  Sisters.  When  Mother  Francis  returned 
with  the  Mayor's  request,  she  was  unhesitatingly  ad- 
mitted to  the  wards  where  hundreds  of  men  evidently 
nearing  the  end,  lay  moaning  on  beds  of  pain. 

"  You  have  been  sent  by  the  committee,  no  doubt, 
Mother  Francis,"  remarked  Colonel  Sweet,  who  so 
far  relented  as  to  usher  the  Sisters  into  the  wards, 
"  if  so,  I  frankly  acknowledge  that  the  constant  ad- 
ditions to  our  numbers,  have  reduced  our  commissariat 
to  a  minimum;  a  fact,  that,  so  far  as  I  am  con- 
cerned, has  been  injudiciously  commented  upon. 
Not  being  a  miracle — worker,  I  have  to  make  the 
best  of  circumstances." 

"For  the  present,  Colonel  Sweet,"  answered 
Mother  Francis,  "  we  bring  a  small  supply  to  your 
Commissariat;  and  will  be  thankful  if  you  allow  us 
to  distribute  it  ourselves." 

"  With  pleasure,"  returned  the  Colonel,  "  you 
have  entire  liberty  to  fulfill  your  mission  of  charity 
during  the  next  two  hours,  at  the  end  of  which  time, 
you  will  please  consider  the  visit  closed.  For  reasons 
that  need  not  be  given  to  ladies,  we  must  guard  Camp 
Douglas  well." 

Mother  Francis  had  a  severe  fall  in  crossing  the 
ice-covered  entrance  to  the  camp,  and  was  suffering 


112    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

from  it;  therefore,  she  at  once  turned  to  the  sick 
men,  who  greedily  devoured  the  food  given  them. 
"Thanks.  God  bless  you,  Sisters!"  said  many  a 
poor  fellow,  who  spoke  no  more  in  this  world. 

Colonel  Sweet  had  placed  his  daughter,  Ada,  in 
St.  Xavier's  Academy  a  short  time  before.  After- 
wards, Ada  Sweet  became  the  celebrated  Pension 
Agent  of  Chicago,  who  was  superseded  in  her  office 
by  Mrs.  Colonel  Mulligan;  and  was  at  the  time 
referred  to,  an  unusually  bright,  intelligent  girl. 
Neither  was  her  father  found  seriously  to  blame  in  the 
Camp  Douglas  affair,  as  the  committee  acknowledged, 
after  the  sisters'  visit. 

Noticing  that  the  shadows  of  death  were  setting 
on  the  features  of  several  Catholic  Soldiers,  Mother 
Francis  begged  the  Colonel  to  allow  a  priest  from 
the  city  to  attend  them — a  request  that  was  graciously 
accorded — and  so  the  rites  of  the  church  were 
administered  for  the  last  time,  that  night,  to  many  a 
man  who  would  otherwise  have  gone  unshrived  before 
God.  A  youth  of  eighteen,  from  one  of  the  eastern 
States,  cried  like  a  child  when  Mother  Francis  laid 
her  hand  on  his  clammy  brow.  "  Oh,  God !  Oh,  God ! 
I  thought  you  were  my  mother,"  he  murmured, 
closing  his  eyes  in  death. 

Loth  to  depart,  and  promising  to  return  the  next 
day,  Mother  Francis  left.  But  the  next  day,  for 
most  of  those  then  lodged  in  Camp  Douglas,  was 
their  first  day  in  eternity!  Mother  Francis'  visit 
soothed  all  parties. 


CAMP    DOUGLAS.  113 

To  atone  for  refusing  to  admit  the  Sisters,  Colonel 
Sweet  sent  a  military  band  to  serenade  the  Academy 
for  several  successive  moon-light  nights,  The  pupils, 
among  whom  was  Ada  Sweet,  were  delighted  with  the 
music;  Mother  Francis  was  astounded  when  the  mar- 
tial strains  sounded  in  such  close  proximity — the 
band  formed  a  cordon  around  the  building — Wabash 
Avenue  was  thronged  with  pleased  listeners;  and 
Colonel  Sweet  was  satisfied  with  his  atonement. 

Just  as  the  melody  of  the  last  serenade  died  away, 
an  unfinished,  five-story  brick  building,  put  up  on 
State  Street,  in  the  rear  of  the  convent,  without 
proper  supports,  fell  with  a  tremendous  crash.  The 
smaller  houses  on  either  side  were  leveled  with  the 
ground.  Five  persons,  among  them  a  young  mother 
and  her  babe,  were  killed. 

The  City-Hall  bell  was  silent,  because  no  fire-alarm 
had  been  sounded,  in  consequence  of  which  help 
came  slowly.  To  arouse  the  neighborhood,  Mother 
Francis  and  a  few  of  the  Sisters  went  out  on  the 
convent  roof  ringing  hand-bells,  and  only  then  did 
way-farers  returning  to  their  homes,  learn  that  a  great 
calamity  had  happened. 

An  Italian  who  plied  his  trade  in  one  of  the  demo- 
lished houses,  called  at  the  convent  next  morning, 
although  suffering  acutely  from  internal  injuries,  to 
implore  the  Sisters  to  find  the  bodies  of  his  wife  and 
child,  both  having  been  removed  during  the  night. 
He  spoke  imperfect  English,  but  Rev.  Mother  under- 


114:    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MOXHOLLAND. 

standing  what  he  wanted,  dispatched  two  Sisters  to 
find  the  missing  dead.  His  wife's  sister,  taken 
unconscious  from  the  ruins,  also  suffered  severe 
injuries. 

After  a  four  hours  search,  the  bodies  were  discov- 
ered in  a  box  in  an  undertakers  basement  swimming 
in  blood,  with  the  other  almost  unrecognizable 
corpses.  Both  were  placed  in  the  same  coffin,  await- 
ing the  arrival  of  the  Italian  who  was  profuse  in  his 
thanks.  "  We  are  Catholics,  Sister,"  he  said.  "  I 
would  never  have  forgiven  myself  if  they  were  not 
buried  in  consecrated  ground.  I  will  pray '  for  you 
and  your  Rev.  Mother,  as  long  as  I  live." 

The  remains  were  taken  to  Calvary  Cemetery 
unaccompanied  by  relatives,  as  the  Italian  had  a 
hemorrhage  on  the  street,  mingled  with  the  sand  and 
lime  he  had  swallowed  when  the  building  fell.  For 
more  than  a  week  the  Sisters  waited  on  him  in  a 
doctor's  office,  whither  he  was  removed  from  the 
undertaker's.  His  sister-in-law  was  cared  for  by  the 
Sisters  in  the  same  place,  and  under  the  same  cir- 
cumstances. Instant  death,  the  doctor  said,  would  be 
the  result  of  removing  them  to  Mercy  Hospital,  or 
any  where  else.  (Each  evening  the  Sisters  returned 
to  the  convent.)  They  recovered,  contrary  to 
expectation,  and  Rev.  Mother,  who  had  written  the 
first  wife's  epitaph,  was  visited  by  them  before  they 
united  their  fortunes  for  life,  to  express  gratitude  for 
her  kindness,  and  to  ask  her  blessing  on  their  future. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE  O  CONNOR  DON.  ST.  XAVIER  S  FIRST  MISSION, 
GALENA,  ILLINOIS.  CONVENT  PUPILS.  THE  GUID- 
ING   SPIRIT. 

A  MONG  the  notabilities  who  visited  the  new 
wt--*~  Academy,  was  the  O'Connor  Don,  one  of  the 
conservative,  landed  aristocrats  of  Ireland.  Right 
Rev.  Bishop  Duggan  accompanied  him .  He  expressed 
himself  much  pleased,  not  only  with  Chicago  in 
general,  but  with  St.  Xavier's  in  particular.  The 
United  States  charmed  him.  A  pupil,  Miss  Haines, 
sang  one  of  the  lays  of  his  native  land  so  artistically, 
so  pathetically,  that  the  aristocratic  Irishman  said 
in  surprise: 

"Until  this  moment,  I  believed  that  Moore's  songs 
could  not  be  rendered  except  in  Ireland,  as  he  inten- 
ded them.  I  find  I  was  mistaken.  Rev.  Mother, 
you  have  reason  to  be  proud  of  your  pupils."  Rev. 
Mother  assured  him  that  she  was  not  a  musician,  and 
that  the  credit  of  the  training  belonged  to  another. 
Sister  M.  Camillus  was  the  music  teacher,  the  singer, 

(115) 


116    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

her  pupil.  Bishop  Duggan  added:  " In  this  greater 
Ireland  beyond  the  seas,  the  melodies  of  the  immor- 
tal bard  are  neither  forgotten  nor  neglected.  The 
performance  just  listened  to,  is  proof."  O'Connor 
Don's  visit,  redolent  of  the  Green  Isle,  was  a  pleasant 
one  in  every  respect. 

One  evening  a  carriage  drove  to  the  Academy, 
having  for  its  occupant  a  mother  in  despair.  She 
rang  for  admission,  and  asked  to  see  her  daughter,  a 
lovely  girl  of  fourteen,  a  boarder.  "  I  must  see  her 
right  here  in  the  hall,"  she  exclaimed,  bursting  into 
a  flood  of  tears.  Mother  Francis  brought  the  young 
lady  herself.  "Oh  Mother  Francis,"  cried  the  un- 
happy woman.  "My  husband  is  sueing  for  divorce. 
We  are  living  miserably.  I  am  a  Catholic,  as  you 
know.  He  is  an  infidel.  He  wants  to  take  my  child, 
but  he  shall  not  have  her.  He  is  following  me  in 
another  carriage.  Say  what  you  please  when  he 
comes — my  darling  and  I  leave  Chicago  to-night." 

She  caught  the  girl  by  the  arm,  rushed  out  of  the 
house,  got  into  the  carriage,  and  they  were  off.  Rev. 
Mother  knew  of  the  infelicity  of  the  pair,  but  was 
not  prepared  for  this  termination.  Scarcely  had  she 
recovered  from  her  surprise,  when  the  pursuing  gen- 
tleman also  entered  to  demand  his  daughter.  To 
gain  time  for  the  fugitives,  Mother  Francis  begged 
him  to  be  seated,  and  explain  the  cause  of  his  demand. 

In  a  white  heat  of  fury,  trembling  violently,  he  sat 
down  to  calm  himself.     Rev.  Mother  seized  the  oppor- 


THE    O'CONNOR    DON.  117 

tunity  to  remonstrate,  and  worked  so  effectually  on 
his  better  feelings,  that  he  promised  to  drop  the 
divorce  suit;  secure  a  handsome  competence  to  his 
wife  and  child:  and,  with  her  as  mediatrix,  await 
their  return.  In  case  they  did  not  return,  to  let 
them  live  in  peace,  which  was  what  eventually  hap- 
pened. The  girl  was  soon  after  sent  back  to  school 
by  her  mother.  Before  leaving,  he  said  to  Mother 
Francis,  "my  experience  has  set  me  against  mixed 
marriages.  I  was  determined  this  child  should 
not  be  of  my  wife's  faith.  I  am  beaten,  and  broken- 
hearted."' 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  a  Mr.  T.,  son  of  a  southern 
planter,  who  had  settled  in  Michigan  wh en  the  slaves 
were  emancipated,  brought  his  daughter  to  Chicago 
to  place  her  in  St.  Xavier's  Academy.  He  was  a  suc- 
cessful miner,  carrying  with  him  to  Golden  City, 
Colorado,  the  most  approved  apparatus  for  washing- 
gold.  His  sister,  Miss  C,  accompanied  him,  but 
suddenly  changed  her  mind,  after  arrangements  for 
his  daughter  were  completed. 

"  Brother,"  she  said  quietly,  "  I  do  not  want  to  go 
to  Colorado  now.  I  will  stay  with  my  niece,  if  you 
please.  I  desire  to  study."  This  slightly  up-set 
Mr.  T's.  plans,  but  he  did  not  oppose  her,  and  she 
remained  in  St.  Xavier's.  Miss  C,  a  recent  convert 
to  Catholicity,  had  the  happiness  of  bringing  about 
the  conversion  of  her  niece,  and  her  two  youngest 
nephews,  sons  of  Mr.  T.,  whom  he  had  just  left  at 


118    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

the  University  of  Notre  Dame,  Indiana,  unconscious 
of  their  change  of  creed. 

An  old  negro  slave,  happy  in  her  capitivity  with  a 
kind  master,  came  with  the  family  to  Michigan, 
renouncing  her  own  people,  and  helped  Miss  C. 
to  keep  the  conversions  secret,  until  a  fitting  time 
for  making  them  known  to  her  brother  presented 
itself.  The  opportunity  was — before  he  left  Chicago. 
She  feared  to  make  the  avowal,  but  all  fear  fled  at  his 
gracious  words:  "  Dear  Sister,  I  did  not  expect  this. 
However,  since  you  and  my  children  have  become 
Catholics,  you  will  be  none  the  less  dear  to  me.  Of 
my  own  will,  I  brought  Mary  and  the  boys  to  Catholic 
schools;  with  my  own  will,  I  leave  you  in  one, 
believing  I  can  do  no  better." 

Transported  with  joy  at  the  success  of  her  zealous 
enterprise,  Miss  C.  thanked  him  for  his  liberalism, 
and  began  her  studies.  She  was  gentle  and  reserved, 
yet  in  her  desk  in  the  school-room,  were  soon  found 
wonderfully  correct  portraits  of  the  pupils  and  the 
Sisters,  on  loose  sheets  of  paper.  They  were  shown 
to  Mother  Francis  who  was  surprised  at  their  life- 
like truthfulness.  Being  asked  where  she  learned  to 
sketch  so  well,  Miss  C  said  she  had  received  no 
instruction  in  drawing  or  portraits.  "It  has  always 
been  in  my  mind,  nevertheless,"  she  added  timidly. 
"  I  make  pictures  of  everything.  I  think  I  could 
learn,  and  would  like  to  try."  Rev.  Mother,  seeing 
the  stamp   of   genius    in    her   pencilings,    had   her 


THE    O'OONNOB    DON.  119 

instructed  by  an  artist,  who  soon  declared  he  had 
nothkig  to  teach  her  in  the  line  of  mechanical  draw- 
ing, as  she  was  born  an  artist.  An  oil  painting  of 
Catherine  McAuley,  Foundress  of  the  Order  of  Mercy, 
was  her  first  production  under  the  direction  of  this 
gentleman.  It  did  not  please  her,  although  it  pleased 
him  so  much,  that  he  offered  her  a  lucrative  position 
in  his  studio. 

She  did  not  accept  the  offer,  having  resolved  what 
her  future  life  would  be,  the  day  she  entered  St. 
Xavier's.  Her  next  attempt  at  oil  painting  was  a  Cure 
D'Ars.  For  this  she  received  so  many  suggestions 
from  persons  unacquainted  with  the  details  of  art, 
that  the  Cure  did  not  appear  as  he  appeared  in  life. 
Mr.  Healy.  the  Chicago  portrait  painter,  hearing  of 
Miss  C's  talent,  called  at  the  convent  to  see  her  Cur  J 
D'Ars.  To  her  utter  dismay — and  enlightenment — 
with  one  sweep  of  his  brush,  he  effaced  the  head. 

He  then  assisted  her  in  producing  a  natural  Cure 
D'Ars;  continued  for  some  time  to  give  her  gratuitous 
lessons  in  oil  painting;  and  brought  out  effectively 
her  latent  genius.  Miss  C. — then,  Sister  M.  P. — 
now,  owes  some  of  her  success  as  a  religious  artist 
to  Mr.  Healy's  valuable  instructions.  Her  pupils 
have  been  very  numerous;  her  studio,  a  source  of 
large  revenue  to  St.  Xavier's  Academy.  Some  oppo- 
sition was  given  by  relatives  to  her  becoming  a 
religious,  but  she  heeded  it  not,  preferring  to  obey 
the  call  of  God. 


120     LIFE  OF  MOTHEE  MAEY  MONHOLLAND. 

Once,  at  recreation,  Rev.  Mother  Francis  detected 
Sister  Mary  P.  making  a  sketch  of  her,  in  a  way  that 
Sister  supposed  would  not  be  noticed.  Although 
often  solicited  by  the  Sisters,  Rev.  Mother  could 
never  be  induced  to  sit  for  her  picture.  In  the  even- 
ing she  called  Sister  aside,  to  exact  a  promise  that 
she  would  not  make  the  attempt  again;  in  fact,  obliged 
her  to  make  the  promise,  which  Sister  kept  while 
Mother  Francis  lived. 

After  her  death,  Sister  Mary  P.  was  sent  for  by 
the  Davenport  Sisters  of  Mercy,' to  take  the  likeness 
of  the  holy  departed,  who  could  not  then  protest 
against  it.  Willingly,  and  lovingly,  she  reproduced 
the  well-known  features — no  easy  task  when  life  was 
extinct — fearing,  however,  that  she  was  committing 
an  act  of  disobedience  in  violating  her  promise.  "  I 
suppose  it  is  all  right,  now,"  she  said,  "  but  Mother 
Francis  never  would  have  permitted  it." 

The  likeness  was  a  very  natural  one.  A  few  copies 
made  from  it,  are  to  be  found  in  other  convents  of 
the  Order.  Sister  Mary  P.  has  become  a  famous 
portrait  painter,  as  she  has  always  been  an  exemplary 
religious. 

A  Miss  Mary  A.,  whose  parents  were  beginning  to 
find  her  a  very  unmanageable  young  lady,  believing 
in  no  religious  creed  themselves,  at  her  repeated 
solicitations,  allowed  her  to  join  a  spiritualist  society, 
which  condescension  gave  them  endless  trouble.  She 
saw  visions,  and  dreamed  dreams.     They  were  never 


THE    GUIDING    SPIRIT.  121 

sure  what  would  happen  next.  In  their  perplexity, 
they  placed  her  in  Rev.  Mother  Francis'  care,  hoping 
she  could  control  her. 

The  change  did  not  please  Mary.  Mother  Francis' 
ways  were  not  her  ways.  Convent  schools  require, 
for  the  sake  of  regularity,  that  on  Sundays,  Protest- 
ants who  do  not  object,  remain  in  the  chapel  during 
mass  with  the  Catholics.  Miss  A.  did  not  object, 
and  was  present.  She  noted  the  ceremonies ;  observed 
the  reverent  faces  around  her;  and  determined  to 
discover  what  it  was  the  Catholics  worshipped.  Her 
opportunity  came. 

The  Sister  sacristan,  after  mass  left  the  Tabernacle 
key  on  the  altar,  by  mistake.  Miss  A.  saw  it, 
remained  in  the  chapel  unnoticed;  and  as  soon  as  all 
had  left,  opened  the  Tabernacle  door,  took  a  consecrated 
Host  from  the  Ciborium,  wrapped  it  in  her  veil,  left 
the  chapel  stealthily,  went  to  her  dormitory,  and  for 
the  first  time  in  her  life,  fell  down  in  a  tit.  Her 
screams  and  writhings  were  terrible.  She  had  told 
her  teacher,  Sister  M.  S.  that  she  intended  to  explore 
the  chapel,  but  Sister  paid  no  attention  to  her. 

Rev.  Mother  and  the  Sisters  gathered  around  her  in 
dismay.  The  sacristan  came  in  affrighted,  to  say,  she 
found  the  Tabernacle  door  open,  and  the  Ciborium 
uncovered,  which  might,  perhaps,  account  for  Miss 
A's  condition.  Her  teacher  was  there,  and  remem- 
bered her  threat.  Miss  A.  was  still  acting  like  one 
possessed,  when  she  suddenly  became  calm;  acknow- 


122    LIFE  OF  MOTHEE  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

ledged  what  she  had  done ;  and  begged  for  forgiveness, 
All  present  knelt-down  to  make  atonement  for  the 
outrage.  The  Sacred  Host  was  taken  back  to  its 
place  by  a  priest  who  happened  to  be  in  the  house — 
an  act  of  reparation  was  read. 

•'  The  spirits  told  me  to  do  it,"  Miss  A.  said 
hysterically.  "  I  was  mad,  and  I  did  it.  But,  after 
the  torture  I  have  undergone,  I  am  done  with  the 
spirits.  I  think  I  shall  become  a  Catholic."  Rev. 
Mother,  who  compassionated  the  wayward  girl,  told 
her,  if  she  desired  to  become  a  Catholic,,  she  must 
notify  her  parents,  after  which  the  Sisters  would  give 
her  proper  instructions.  She  had  to  be  sent  home, 
however,  on  account  of  failing  health.  By  her 
express  wish,  Mother  Francis  corresponded  with  her 
parents  on  the  subject,  who  assured  her  they  would 
put  no  obstacle  in  the  way,  if  their  daughter  wished 
to  become  a  Catholic.  As  she  died  in  a  short  time,  it 
is  to  be  hoped,  she  had  the  benefit  of  a  baptism  of 
desire  at  least. 

St.  Xavier's  first  branch -house  was  a  failure.  The 
pastor  of  a  small  parish,  a  short  distance  from  the 
city,  immediately  after  the  Academy  was  opened, 
asked  for  sisters  to  teach  his  parochial  school,  and 
got  them.  Rev.  Mother  Agatha,  did  not  reflect  that 
a  thinly  settled  suburb  was  hardly  the  place  to  open 
a  school.  In  her  zeal,  she  only  saw  souls  to  be  won 
to  God,  and  complied  with  the  request. 

She  hoped,  that  as  in  Chicago,  the  non-Catholics 


THE    GUIDING    SPIRIT.  123 

of  the  village  would  send  their  children,  and  so  help 
the  school,  The  rector  of  the  solitary  dissenting 
church  attended  to  that.  In  season  and  out  of 
season,  he  warned  his  people  not  to  send  their 
children  to  the  Catholic  shool,  where  they  would  be 
contaminated  by  popish  influences.  He  was  listened 
to,  and  obeyed.  A  continuance  of  petty  annoyances 
from  the  fanatical  portion  of  his  flock,  added  to  the 
fact,  that  the  school  did  not  pay  expenses,  induced 
the  Sisters  to  ask  Rev.. Mother  to  take  them  home. 

After  first  learning  from  the  Rev.  Pastor,  that  he, 
himself  did  not  get  sufficient  support,  she  reluctantly 
decided  to  withdraw  the  Sisters,  rather  than  get 
into  debt.  He  could  not  give  monetary  assistance  to 
the  school,  as  he  was  obliged  to  use  nearly  every 
dollar  he  received  to  pay  off  the  debt  on  his  church; 
his  people  being  mostly  day-laborers  and  poor. 

Mother  Francis  was  directed  to  bring  the  Sisters 
home,  There  was  no  railroad,  and  they  returned  in 
wagons.  One  merry  little  Sister,  who  had  been 
presented  with  a  cow,  declared  she  could  not  leave 
her  cow  behind.  But  how  was  she  to  take  it  with 
her?  "  Not  in  a  wagon,"  remarked  some  one.  "Yes,"' 
she  said,  "  in  a  wagon,  if  there  is  no  other  way. 
I  can  walk." 

Mother  Francis  came  to  her  assistance  by  tying 
the  cow  to  one  of  the  wagons,  and  taking  the  road  to 
Chicago,  which  they  reached  in  the  dusk  of  the  even- 
ing. The  cow,  therefore,  entered  the  future  metropolis 


124    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

unperceived,  and  proved  a  valuable  addition  to  their 
limited  amount  of  live-stock.  The  good  Father 
bade  them  a  friendly  farewell,  but  invited  no  more 
Sisters  to  his  village,  which  was  soon  absorbed  in 
the  growing  city. 

In  1848,  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company 
built  the  first  road  passing  through  Galena  from 
Chicago.  The  year  following,  Bishop  Quarter  asked 
the  Sisters  to  open  a  school  in  Galena,  at  that  time  a 
prominent  mining  center.  The  Chicago  community 
was  small,  yet,  in  obedience  to  the  Bishop,  a  colony 
of  talented,  though  not  experienced  Sisters,  was  sent 
to  Galena.  Rev.  Mother  Agatha  accompanied  them 
to  their  new  home.  The  school  was  no  sooner  open- 
ed, then  the  children  of  the  best  people  of  the  town, 
Protestant  and  Catholic,  entered,  and  things  in  gen- 
eral promised  success.  The  new  craze  of  spiritual- 
ism, however,  was  just  then  obtaining  a  foot- hold  in 
Galena,  hundreds  of  Non-Catholics,  including  some 
pupils  at  the  convent,  being  initiated  in  its  pretended 
mysteries. 

During  recreation  hours,  these  young  ladies  held 
seances  on  the  sly;  astonished  the  Sisters  by  table- 
rappings;  held  converse  with  the  dead;  and,  when 
forbidden  to  practice  their  juggleries,  left  the  school, 
and  spoke  disparagingly  of  their  teachers.  The  de- 
parture had  its  effect.  The  school  languished.  Other 
local  causes,  also  were  unfavorable.  Perhaps,  if  the 
Sisters  had  more  experience  in  the  ways  of  the  world, 


THE   GUIDING   SPIRIT.  125 

the  difficulties  would  have  been  overcome.  As  it  was, 
the  home  authorities  contemplated  the  closing  of  the 
mission. 

This  was  postponed  for  a  time,  as  four  novices 
were  preparing  for  profession,  in  fact,  were  professed 
in  Galena  by  Rev.  Mother  Agatha.  Some  of  the 
older  Sisters  favored  the  idea  of  returning  to  Chi- 
cago. The  younger  members,  received  and  professed 
there,  expressed  a  desire  to  remain 

The  problem  was  solved  when  Mother  Francis  be- 
came Superior,  one  of  her  first  official  acts  being  the 
recall  of  the  Sisters  from  Galena.  In  extreme  cases, 
a  principle  of  governing  adopted  by  her,  was  to  ap- 
pear not  to  govern.  Some  dissatisfaction  was  felt 
at  the  withdrawal;  but,  as  Rev.  Mother  paid  no 
attention  to  it,  it  ceased.  Several  young  ladies  who 
attended  the  school  in  Galena,  followed  the  Sisters  to 
Chicago,  to  continue  their  studies  under  their  di- 
rection. 

Among  these  were  two  non-Catholics,  Miss  Haines 
and  Miss  Blake,  both  of  whom  became  persons  of 
note  in  the  musical  world.  A  Chicago  student,  Miss 
Hugg,  was  such  a  marked  proficient  in  drawing, 
under  the  tutelage  of  one  of  the  Galena  Sisters, 
that  her  services  in  draughting  were  sought  for  by 
the  best  artists  in  the  Opera  House,  when  that  fam- 
ous art  centre  had  attained  celebrity.  The  pupils  of 
St.    Xavier's,  in    almost   every    branch   of  learning, 


126    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MAEY  MONHOLLAND. 

reflected   honor   on    their  Alma  Mater,  and  were    a 
credit  to  their  teachers. 

All  through  the  years,  Mother  Francis,  whether 
Assistant  or  Superior,  guided,  enlightened,  urged  the 
Sisters  on  to  higher  aims,  for  the  glor}'  of  God,  and  the 
success  of  the  Order  of  Mercy.  Her  influence  for 
good,  in  the  Queen  City  of  the  Lakes  did  not  die 
with  her. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


MOTHER  FRANCIS  CONSERVATISM.  MISSION  IN  OTTAWA 
A  SUCCESS.  ACADEMIC  COMMENCEMENTS.  DISTRI- 
TRIBUTION    OF    PRIZES.      VARIOUS    INCIDENTS. 

f  I  ^HE  experiences  recorded  in  the  preceding  chap- 
-*-  ter,  gave  Rev.  Mother  Francis  a  distaste  for 
out-missions.  Naturally  conservative  she  preferred 
to  concentrate  the  working  powers  at  home.  Several 
Superiors  who  had  sent  out  missions  to  various  points, 
with  consent,  or  by  request,  of  ecclesiastical  authori- 
ties, blamed  her  for  this,  as  there  were  many  appli- 
cants for  the  services  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  in 
Illinois.  She  accepted  the  blame,  but  acted  a  ccord- 
ing  to  her  judgment. 

The  city  of  Chicago, -alone,  she  believed  would  re- 
quire all  the  Sisters  who  would  join  the  order  for  the 
next  half-century,  and  in  a  certain  sense  she  was 
right.  To-day,  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  numbering 
more  than  two  hundred,  teach  a  large  number  of  paro- 
chial schools,  several  academies,  conduct  with  rare 
ability  the  magnificent  Mercy  Hospital,  as  well  as  a 

(127) 


128    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

House  of  Providence.  The  Mother  House,  situated 
at  the  corner  of  Twenty-ninth  Street  and  Wabash 
Avenue,  is  a  marvel  of  architectural  beauty. 

Mother  Francis  mentally  foresaw  these  grand  re- 
sults, and  labored  for  their  realization — a  few  of  the 
actual  results  she  did  not  live-  to  see.  Nothwith- 
standing  her  conservatism,  she  made  an  exception  in 
favor  of  Ottawa,  Illinois,  whose  zealous  pastor,  Rev. 
Dean  Terry,  made  an  urgent  appeal  for  a  colony  of 
Sisters.  As  he  would  not  take  a  refusal,  Rev.  M. 
Vincent  McGirr  granted  his  request  favoring  him 
with  some  of  the  most  efficient  members  of  the  com- 
munity. This  foundation  was  sent  out  in  1857,  in 
which  year  Mother  Vincent  ceased  to  be  superior. 

Rev.  Mother  Francis  succeeding  her  in  office,  con- 
tinued to  take  as  much  interest  in  the  Ottawa  con- 
vent as  if  she  had  founded  it  herself.  It  was  some- 
times referred  to  as — her  first  mission.  Afterwards, 
with  her  consent,  Ottawa  became  a  parent  house; 
which  with  its  affilliations,  has  been  blessed  with 
singular  success. 

Sister  M.  Xavier  McGirr  was  the  first  local  Super- 
ior in  Ottawa,  and  is  buried  there  in  a  beautiful  cem- 
etery, beside  her  deceased  parents.  Her  sister, 
Mother  M.  Vincent  McGirr,  also  passed  some  years 
in  the  Ottawa  House;  but  she  always  yearned  for  the 
old  mother  house  in  Chicago,  where  she  was  one  of 
the  first  Sisters  professed,  and  will  there  pass  from 
earth  to  join  "the  community  in  heaven."    Pre-emin- 


MOTHER    FRANCIS'    CONSERVATISM.  129 

ently,  among  the  founders  of  the  Ottawa  Convent, 
stands  the  name  of  Kev.  Mother  M.  Paula  Healy. 
When  still  young,  she  was  elected  Mother  Superior, 
a  position  she  filled  for  several  successive  terms.  By 
her  tact,  and  affability,  she  won  hosts  of  friends  for 
the  new  establishment,  some  of  whom  gave  substan- 
tial proofs  of  friendship,  both  in  money  and  land. 

Kev.  Dean  Terry,  devoted  all  his  energies  to  the 
advancement  of  the  convent  he  helped  to  establish. 
His  name  will  ever  be  held  in  grateful  rememberance 
by  the  Ottawa  Sisters  of  Mercy;  as  will  also  be  the 
name  of  their  constant  friend,  Rev.  Mother  Francis. 
An  eminent  clergyman,  Rev.  Father  Kinsella,  who 
left  the  Chicago  diocese  in  Bishop  Vendevelde's 
time,  brother  of  Mother  M.  Euphrasia,  bequeathed 
a  sufficient  sum  of  money  to  furnish  the  beautiful 
chapel  of  the  convent. 

St.  John's  Parochial  School,  was  offered  to  Rev. 
Mother  Francis,  in  1863,  by  Rev.  John  Waldron,  pas- 
tor of  a  large  congregation  in  the  heart  of  the  city. 
The  Sisters  began  their  labors  there  immediately,  in 
crowded  school-rooms  whose  attendance  never  de- 
creased, although  the  whistles  of  the  steam-engines 
rushing  constantly  along  the  street,  often  drowned 
the  voices  of  both  the  teachers  and  the  pupils.  But 
as  long  as  Father  Waldron  did  not  mind  it,  the 
Sisters  did  not. 

The  school,  with  its"  zealous  corps  of  instructors, 
societies  of  the   Holy  Angels,  St.  Joseph,  St.  Aloy- 


130    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

sius,  monthly  reception  of  sacraments,  Sodality  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception,  free  library,  gave  sincere 
pleasure  to  Father  Waldron.  The  people  were  de- 
lighted with  it.  The  progress  of  the  pupils  was 
satisfactory,  Mother  Francis  asked  no  remuneration 
for  the  Sisters'  services.  However,  Father  Wal- 
dron acted  generously,  proving  himself  on  all  occa- 
sions the  friend  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy. 

For  many  years  they  taught  St.  Patrick's  Par- 
ochial School,  on  the  "West  Side  of  Chicago,  at  the 
request  of  Very  Rev.  Denis  Dunn,  Vicar  General  of 
the  diocese,  walking  daily  there  from  the  convent  on 
Wabash  Avenue,  which  was  a  considerable  distance 
to  travel.  Madison  Street  bridge — a  midway  point 
— was  "  swung  "  every  few  hours  to  let  boats  pass 
on  either  side.  The  exhalations  from  the  Chicago 
River  were  offensive  in  the  extreme.  If  the  Sisters 
were  fortunate  enough  to  get  across  the  river  before 
the  bridge  was  opened,  they  reached  St.  Patrick's 
School  on  time.  If  they  did  not  get  across  before 
the  opening,  they  were  obliged  to  stand  on  the  street 
with  hundreds  of  others  until  the  river  craft  sailed 
by,  and  the  bridge  was  again  in  place.     Sometimes 

they  happened  to  be  on  the  bridge  when  the  open- 
ing began,  and  there  they  remained,  perforce,  in  fair 
weather  or  foul,  inhaling  the  river  breezes,  sheltering 
themselves  as  they  could  from  the  scorching  rays  of 
the  sun,  or  shivering  in  wet  clothes  during  a  down- 
pour of  rain.     Then  they  were  not  on  time,  and  the 

pupils  had  extended  recreations. 


MOTHER    FRANCIS'    CONSERVATISM.  131 

Mother  Francis  had  this  experience  occasionally. 
"  Why  don't  they  tunnel  the  river  and  let  us  walk  un- 
der it,"  she  said  to  her  companion  after  one  of  these 
delays.  "We  have  been  a  spectacle  to  angels  and  to 
men."  Her  thoughts  were  in  advance  of  the  time, 
but  it  entered  into  the  brains  of  others,  and  the  Chi- 
cago River  was  afterwards  tunneled. 

There  were  no  street  cars  then  in  the  city,  which 
fact  made  it  difficult  to  reach  St.  Patrick's  School  on 
foot  During  the  winter  it  was  hard  travel.  One 
Sister  lost  a  shoe  in  a  snow-drift,  A  second  had  her 
feet  frozen.  A  third,  painting  the  school-room,  with 
the  aid  of  another  Sister,  fell  off  a  step-ladder,  strik- 
ing on  an  open  keg  of  paint,  which  she  upset,  splash- 
ing it  all  over  her  clothing.  Fortunately,  no  bodily 
injuries  were  received.  She  was  not  in  a  condition  to 
walk  home  after  the  accident,  and  a  carriage  had  to 
be  called  late  on  a  winter  evening.  The  driver  did 
not  notice  Sister's  dripping  robes  until  they  reached 
Wabash  Avenue,  "  Indeed,  then,  Sister,"  he  said, 
"much  as  I  respect  you,  I  would  not  have  taken  you 
into  the  carriage  if  I  knew  this.  The  cover  of  the 
seat  is  spoiled.  And  who  is  to  pay  for  it?  "  Sister 
apologized,  but  the  apology  was  received  with  such 
bad  grace,  that  two  extra  dollars  were  given  him, 
besides  his  fare,  and  he  drove  off  still  grumbling. 

Mother  Vincent  strained  many  a  point  to  keep  St. 
Patrick's  School  in  good  working  order.  After  her, 
Mother  Francis  did  the  same.     In  the  year  that  St. 


132    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

John's  School  was  opened,  Rev.  Dr.  Dunn  asked  that 
the  Sisters  who  taught  in  St.  Patrick's,  be  allowed  to 
reside  there.  There  was  no  precedent  at  the  time 
for  such  an  arrangement,  and  Mother  Francis  re- 
fused; upon  which  Dr.  Dunn  invited  another  Order 
to  take  charge  of  the  school.  During  the  rebellion  it 
was  not  easy  for  Mother  Francis  to  meet  emergencies. 
She  had  but  lately  returned  from  the  seat  of  war, 
herself,  and  filled  as  she  could  the  vacancies  form- 
erly held  by  her  absent  children.  Therefore,  St. 
Patrick's  was  relinquished  without  demur. 

Until  the  period  of  the  late  civil  strife,  the  Good 
Shepherd  nuns  had  not  appeared  in  Chicago.  Their 
noble  work  of  charity,  however,  was  forestalled  by 
Rev.  Mother  Francis.  At  the  urgent  solicitation  of 
Dr.  McMullen,  afterwards  first  Bishop  of  Davenport, 
who  saw  the  need  of  such  an  institution,  she  opened 
a  house  on  Market  Street,  North  Chicago,  for  the 
reception  of  erring  women;  got  it  into  proper  shape, 
and  soon  there  were  as  many  inmates  as  the  Sisters 
could  care  for.  This  unpretentious  refuge  was 
opened  in  1858. 

Although  Catherine  McAuley,  foundress  of  the 
institute,  opened  a  similar  establishment  in  Dublin 
long  before;  conducting  homes  for  this  class  of 
females,  has  not  been  considered  a  distinctive  work 
of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy.  On  the  arrival  of  the  Good 
Shepherd  Nuns,  Mother  Francis  resigned  in  their 
favor.     One  of  their  out-door  members — Sister  Mar- 


VARIOUS    INCIDENTS.  133 

tha — was  a  remarkable  person  in  Chicago  for  many 
years. 

Her  soliciting  was  a  main  factor  in  raising  the  es- 
tablishment, from  very  humble  beginnings,  to  its 
present  imposing  proportions.  Every  business  man 
knew  Sister  Martha,  and  was  prepared  for  her  visits. 
She  always  returned  home  laden  with  goods. 
Bishop  Duggan  once  met  her  on  State  Street  bridge, 
carrying  in  her  arms  a  motley  variety  of  articles. 

Relating  the  incident,  Bishop  Duggan  said  to 
Mother  Francis:  "Yesterday,  while  crossing  State 
Street  bridge,  I  noticed  Sister  Martha  and  her  bun- 
dles, and  tried  to  avoid  meeting  her.  She  noticed 
me,  too,  went  down  on  her  knees,  encumbered  as  she 
was,  and  asked  my  blessing." 

"I  hope  you  gave  it,  Bishop,  although  she  might 
have  waited  for  a  more  suitable  place,"  remarked 
Mother  Francis.  "Gave  it!  Of  course  I  did.  She 
would  not  rise  till  I  gave  it,"  replied  Bishop  Dug- 
gan. "The  people  on  the  bridge  saw  the  occurrence. 
But  then  every  one  knows  Sister  Martha,  whom  I 
regard  as  a  very  humble  saint." 

From  1850  to  1867,  Mother  Francis  presided  at 
the  annual  examinations  held  both  at  St.  Xaviers 
and  St.  Agatha's  Academies,  which  were  conducted 
by  her,  personally,  or  by  competent  Sisters  in  her 
presence.  Rev.  Mother  Agatha,  and  Rev.  Mother 
Vincent,  during  their  respective  terms  of  office,  had 
so  arranged.     Awarding  prizes  was  her  especial  pro- 


134    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

vince — diplomas  and  graduate  honors  being  usually 
conferred  by  the  Bishop  of  the  diocese. 

On  one  of  these  occasions,  Cardinal  Wiseman's 
beautiful  drama — -"Fabiola,"  was  presented.  The 
caste  was  a  strong  one.  The  pupils,  cultured  and  in- 
telligent, were  fairly  equal  to  the  parts  assigned  them. 
Nevertheless,  there  was  some  difficulty  in  finding  a 
realistic  representative  of  Sebastian,  the  martyr.  For 
a  young  lady,  the  role  was  hazardous.  Some  tried, 
and  failed,  some  tried  and  objected.  A  Miss  D.,  to 
relieve  Mother  Francis'  embarrassment,  studied  the 
character,  and  made  it  a  success. 

Should  the  eyes  of  this  lady,  moving  in  the  first 
circles  of  Chicago  society,  scan  these  pagep,  she  will 
doubtless  remember  Mother  Francis'  anxiety  con- 
cerning "Fabiola;"  and  her  own  triumph  in  the  death 
scene  of  St.  Sebastian.  A  Miss  L.,  also,  a  society 
lady  of  Chicago,  was  an  actress  in  this  unforgotten 
school-scene,  which  she  helped  to  make  brilliant  by 
her  perfect  oratory.  Two  non-Catholic  young  ladies 
— sisters — from  Milwaukee,  reading  "Fabiola"  for 
the  first  time,  assisted  in  the  drama. 

St.  Agatha's  commencement  exercises  had  acquired 
such  wide-spread  celebrity,  and  were  so  numerously 
attended  by  friends  of  the  pupils,  and  the  public  gen- 
erally, that  spacious  halls,  bowers  of  artistic  beauty, 
were  improvised  on  the  campus,  the  fairest  and  most 
gifted  of  Chicago's  daughters  winning  crowns  and 
plaudits  in  them. 


VARIOUS    INCIDENTS.  135 

Mother  Francis  was  the  guiding  spirit;  and  seldom 
erred  in  naming  the  graduates,  some  of  whom  sub- 
sequently held  positions  in  art  studios — in  musical 
conservatories — in  law  offices  as  amanuenses — in 
wholesale  houses  as  bookkeepers — in  their  own  ele- 
gant homes  as  exemplary  wives  and  mothers — or  bet- 
ter *still,  as  accomplished  religious  teachers  in  the 
school-rooms  where  they  had  themselves  been  taught. 

St.  Agatha's  Seminary  ceased  to  exist,  when  the 
change  of  the  Orphan  Asylum  and  Hospital  had 
been  effected;  the  pupils  having  been  transferred  to 
St.  Xavier's  on  Wabash  Avenue.  This  elegant  struc- 
ture was  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  1871.  The  school 
was  continued  in  a  rented  house  near  Douglas  Uni- 
versity, until  the  magnificent  academy,  corner  of 
Twenty-ninth  Street  and  Wabash  Avenue,  was  built. 
The  Elevated  Railroad,  however,  in  the  rear  has 
proved  a  detriment.  As  a  matter  of  course,  the  repu- 
tation of  this  academy  now  exceeds  the  records  of 
former  years;  but,  the  memory  of  its  great  origina- 
tor, Mother  Mary  Francis  de  Sales,  still  challenges  a 
rival.  She  was  a  host  in  herself.  Her  third  term 
of  office  expired  in  1867;  yet  she  was  always  "the 
power  behind  the  throne."  The  unusual  success  of 
the  Order  of  Mercy  in  Chicago,  was  largely  due  to 
her  zeal  and  energy.  The  majority  of  the  senior 
members  of  the  community  knew  and  acknowledged 
this.  It  was  under  consideration  to  apply  to  Rome 
through  Bishop  Duggan,  for  her  life  appointment  as 


136    LIFE  OF  MOTHEF.  MAKY  MONHOLLAND. 

Superior;  which  would  have  been  carried  into  effect 
if  his  mind  had  not  become  impaired. 

With  her  splendid  record  as  a  religious,  first,  and 
a  business  woman  after,  she  was  permitted  to  take  a 
rest.  Not  exactly  a  rest,  either,  as  she  had  charge 
for  a  short  time  of  the  hospital  her  genius  helped  to 
establish — the  famous  Mercy  Hospital  of  Chicago. 
Rev.  Mother  Scholastica  succeeded  her  in  office. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


MOTHER      FRANCIS      IN      IOWA.  THE      INDEPENDENCE 

MISSION.  JOUKNEYINGS  TO  AND  FRO.  INCIDENTS. 
DR.  m'MULLENS  VISIT.  CHICAGO  FRIENDS  IN  THE 
WEST.  INDEPENDENCE  ON  FIRE.  MOTHER  BOR- 
ROMEO'S   DEATH. 

In  1867,  Rev.  James  Scallon,  of  De  Witt,  Iowa, 
waited  on  Rev.  Mother  M.  Scholastic  Drum,  in  Chi- 
cago, to  induce  her  to  send  Sisters  of  Mercy  to  De  Witt. 
The  Sisters  of  Charity,  B.  V.  M.  had  been  there, 
and  left,  because  of  poor  accommodations  and  scant 
patronage.  The  frame  convent  was  a  shell.  Rain 
poured  through  the  roof.  The  wind  rushed  in  at 
doors  and  windows.  In  winter  the  cold  of  the  house 
was  well-nigh  unbearable. 

Father  Scallon  did  not  conceal  this.  He  only 
asked  that  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  would  try  to  make  it 
comfortable  for  school  purposes.  Mother  M.  Schol- 
astica  promised  that  a  trial  would  be  made,  selected 
Sisters  for  the  mission — 'appointing  Rev.  Mother  M. 
Borromeo  Johnson,  Superior — and  accompanied  them 
to  De  Witt.     She  wanted  to  see  by  personal  observa- 

(137) 


138    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

tion  how  matters  stood.  The  prospect  was  so  poor, 
that  she  regretted  having  brought  the  Sisters.  They 
came  to  stay,  however,  and  Mother  Scholastica  re- 
turned to  Chicago. 

Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Hennessy  gave  every  encour- 
agement to  the  Sisters.  The  State  of  Iowa  formed 
but  one  diocese  then.  Within  a  year,  the  De  Witt 
convent  was  remodelled,  made  habitable,  and  filled 
with  pupils.  Rev.  Mother  Borromeo  succeeded  be- 
yond her  hopes.  In  1869,  Rev.  Father  John  Gosker 
of  Independence,  asked  her  to  send  Sisters  there,  a 
request  Bishop  Hennessy,  approved  of.  A  bright 
future  was  opening  for  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  in  Iowa. 
Mother  Borromeo  saw  it,  and  resolved  to  consult 
with  mother  Francis.  In  an  unexpected  way  the 
Sisters  were  also  asked  to  come  to  Davenport,  before 
the  Independence  house  was  opened.  This  decided 
Mother  Borromeo  to  visit  mother  Francis  at  once.  In 
Chicago,  a  consultation  was  held  by  Rev.  Mother 
Scholastica,  Rev.  Mother  Borromeo,  and  Mother 
Francis,  about  the  Iowa  missions,  which  Mother 
Francis  terminated,  by  offering  to  come  to  Iowa  her- 
self. 

Bishop  Duggan  reluctantly  consented  to  this,  and 
the  mission  for  Independence  was  placed  in  charge 
of  Mother  Francis.  There  were  then  in  Iowa,  seven 
professed  choir  Sisters,  and  two  professed  lay  Sisters, 
all  originally,  members  of  the  Chicago  community,  of 
which  the  Iowa  convents  were  off-shoots.     The  rapi- 


MOTHER    FRANCIS    IN    IOWA.  139 

dity  with  which  the  Order  of  Mercy  spread  in  Iowa, 
from  1807  to  1892,  was  remarkable.  Convents, 
besides  those  in  DeWitt,  Davenport  and  Indepen- 
dence, were  opened  in  quick  succession,  in  Dubuque, 
Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa  City.  Sisters  of  Mercy  from  St. 
Catherine's  Convent,  New  York,  opened  a  school  at 
Fort  Dodge.  Sisters  of  Mercy  from  Minneapolis, 
Minnesota,  opened  a  Hospital  at  Council  Bluffs. 
Cedar  Rapids  sent  affilliations  to  Dacorah,  Grand 
Junction,  Manchester,  Marion.  Davenport  sent  a 
colony  to  Dunlap.  Dubuque,  besides  opening  an 
Asylum  for  Insane  a  few  miles  from  the  city,  sent 
affilliations  to  Sioux  City  and  Clinton. 

There  are  to-day,  in  Iowa,  six  Hospitals  conducted 
by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  and  more  than  nine  Acade- 
mies, with  parochial  schools  attached  to  each. 
Mother  Francis'  conservatism  gave  way  at  last.  She 
was  delighted  with  the  spread  of  the  Order,  gave 
such  assistance  as  was  in  her  power  to  the  young 
missions,  rendered  valuable  service  to  Mother  Bor- 
romeo  while  she  lived.  Of  the  nine  Sisters  who  came 
from  Chicago  to  Iowa,  all  have  passed  away,  save  two, 
Rev.  Mother  Baptist  and  another.  The  Mortal  re- 
mains of  Mother  Francis,  with  those  of  five  of  her 
early  companions  in  religion,  repose  in  the  cemetery 
of  the  Davenport  convent,  where  numbers  of  other 
Sisters  are  also  interred. 

At  Independence,  Mother  Francis  although  in  her 
fifty-third  year,  taught  a  junior  class  of  children  and 


140    LIFE  OP  MOTHER  MAEY  MONHOLLAND. 

made  the  visitation  of  the  sick,  walking  over  the 
prairie  for  miles  to  find  them.  An  old  man,  a  miser, 
lay  dying  in  a  wood  shed  attached  to  his  son's  house. 
The  son  declared  it  was  impossible  to  keep  him  in  the 
house  on  account  of  his  offensive  habits.  The 
weather  was  warm,  the  shed  was  a  good  one,  the  seem- 
ing cruelty  was  explainable. 

Mother  Francis  discovered  him  accidentally,  while 
making  her  rounds.  Hearing  groans  in  the  shed,  she 
went  in,  and  was  shocked  by  what  she  saw.  With 
unkempt  hair,  hands,  face  and  feet  unwashed  for 
weeks,  ringer  and  toe-nails  as  long  as  birds  claws, 
bed  and  bedding  in  the  filthiest  condition,  the  poor 
creature  presented  a  pitiable  appearance.  He  owned 
a  farm,  and  hoarded  the  rent,  nevertheless.  An  Irish 
Catholic,  he  had  no  thought  of  preparing  for  the 
eternity  he  was  approaching. 

Mother  Francis  attended  to  his  bodily  wants  first. 
She  sent  the  novice  who  accompanied  her  to  the  house, 
for  soap,  water  and  towels,  and  with  her  own  hands 
performed  the  needed  ablution.  "Oh,  Mother,  how 
can  you  touch  him?"  exclaimed  the  novice.  "How 
did  Christ  touch  the  lepers,  dear,"  answered  Mother 
Francis.  "  You  will  please  to  cut  his  finger  and  toe- 
nails." 

The  novice  obeyed  in  fear  and  trembling.  The 
transformed  patient  protested  against  their  attentions. 
"  I  don't  know  who  you  are,"  he  said.  "But  I 
know  you  wont  wash  me  again."     "We  will  get  your 


MOTHER    PEANCIS    IN    IOWA.  141 

soul  washed  next,"  remarked  Mother  Francis.  He 
looked  at  her  earnestly.  "I  believe  God  sent  you 
here,"  he  replied.  "I  forgot  I  had  a  soul  until  you 
reminded  me  of  it.  Get  a  priest  at  once,  because  I 
I  know  now  I  must  die."  She  had  his  clothing 
washed,  and  next  day  Father  Gosker  gave  him  the 
last  sacraments.  He  died  the  same  week,  reconciled 
to  the  church,  giving  evidence  of  sincere  repentance. 
His  money,  however,  perished  with  him,  being  con- 
cealed where  it  was  not  discovered  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  except  a  few  dollars  he  gave  to  Father  Gosker 
to  say  masses  for  the  repose  of  his  soul,  and  to  bury 
him. 

An  Independence  lawyer,  Mr.  Wert,  happened  to 
be  out  shooting  game.  His  wife  was  a  convert  to 
Catholicity,  he  was  a  free-thinker.  *  A  random  shot 
took  effect  in  his  right  arm,  producing  instant  paraly- 
sis, and  blood-poisoning.  He  was  carried  home  in 
the  arms  of  strong  men — dying.  Mrs.  Wert,  a  re- 
fined Boston  lady,  became  suddenly  gray  with  fright. 
Mother  Francis  hearing  of  the  accident,  went  to  the 
home  of  Mr.  Wert,  and  waited  on  him  for  three  days 
and  nights,  assisted  by  other  Sisters. 

•'I  must  lose  him,  Mother  Francis,  I  can  see  that." 
sobbed  broken-hearted  Mrs.  Wert.  "He  was  a 
good  husband  to  me,  and  a  kind  father  to  our  child- 
ren. If  he  only  died  a  Catholic,  I  would  be  recon- 
ciled to  the  will  of  God."  The  dying  man,  who  had 
not  yet  lost  the  power  of  speech,  heard  her.     "  My 


142     LIFE  OP  MOTHEE  MAEY  MONHOLLAND. 

darling  wife,"  he  said,  "I  will  die  a  Catholic.  The 
charity  of  Mother  Francis  and  the  Sisters  has  oblit- 
erated the  prejudices  of  my  life." 

Father  Gosker  was  again  called,  and  another  soul 
was  added  to  the  Church  Triumphant.  As  permission 
to  remain  out  of  the  convent  at  night  to  nurse  the 
wounded  man  was  necessary,  but  could  not  be  ob- 
tained in  time,  Mother  Francis  explained  it  to  the 
proper  authorities  afterwards,  who  approved  of  it  in 
a  case  of  emergency. 

To  assist  Eev.  Mother  Borromeo  in  the  onerous 
business  of  the  Davenport  institution — which  was 
two-fold,  care  of  the  sick  and  care  of  the  insane — 
Mother  Francis  made  frequent  journeys  between  In- 
dependence and  Davenport  with  much  inconvenience 
to  a  person  of  her  years.  Returning  once  from  Dav- 
enport during  a  blinding  snow  storm,  the  train  un- 
able to  work  its  way  through  the  drifts,  came  to  a 
standstill  three  miles  from  town. 

It  was  nearly  midnight.  The  conductor  told  the 
passengers  he  could  go  no  further;  adding  that  who- 
ever wanted  to  reach  Independence  must  walk  there. 
Thore  was  no  help  for  it;  so,  Mother  Francis  and  a 
young  Sister,  recently  professed,  started  across  the 
trackless  fields— snow  and  sleet  blowing  in  their 
faces.  Guided  by  Providence,  they  reached  the  out- 
skirts of  the  town,  when  Sister  suddenly  became  be- 
numbed, and  fell;  declaring  she  could  not  walk 
another  step. 


MOTHER    BOllROMEO'S    DEATH.  14:3 

To  leave  her  there  even  for  a  short  time  would  be 
dangerous.  Fortunately  a  wagon  filled  with  passen- 
gers "from  tbe  snowed-in  train  came  in  sight. 
Mother  Francis  begged  the  driver  to  take  Sister 
along  with  the  others.  "  She's  in  a  bad  fix,"  he 
said  looking  ot  her.  "I  cannot  make  room  for  two. 
What  are  you  going  to  do?" 

"  I  will  get  along  all  right,  if  you  take  Sister  to 
tke  convent  in  Independence,"  she  answered.  "  If 
I'm  not  mistaken,  you  are  Mother  Francis,"  returned 
the  man,  as  he  lifted  Sister  into  the  wagon.  "Stay 
where  you  are.  I  will  come  back  for  you.  Many  a 
good  deed  you  did  yourself."  The  storm  was  so  fierce 
he  could  not  return,  although  he  tried  to. 

As  he  drove  off,  Mother  Francis,  half  frozen, 
uttered  a  prayer,  and  resumed  her  walk.  She  arrived 
at  the  convent  as  soon  as  Sister  did,  utterly  exhausted; 
but  arose  in  time  for  morning  meditation,  neverthe- 
less. To  make  train  connections,  it  was  necessary 
to  leave  Independence  about  one  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing; therefore  she  neither  slept  that  night,  the  fol- 
lowing day,  nor  the  night  of  her  return.  These 
journeys  were  slowly  undermining  her  constitution; 
but  she  did  not  mind,  because  the  work  of  the  Order 
was  prospering  in  Iowa,  and  the  Sisters  looked  to  her 
for  advice,  as  they  had  done  in  Chicago. 

Independence  was  a  thriving  town,  settled  chiefly 
by  Massachusetts  people,  to  some  of  whom  the  Sisters 
were  a  curiosity.     "There  is  the  mother  of  them  all," 


144     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

said  a  lady  visitor  to  her  friend,  pointing  to  a  postul- 
ant, who  was  passing  along  the  hall  of  the  convent. 
The  postulant  turned  and  smiled.  "Guess  you  are  mis- 
taken," answered  the  friend.  "That's  a  young  girl, 
she  can't  be  their  mother.  But  who  are  they  in 
mourning  for." 

The  Academy  and  free  school  were  well  attended 
until  a  western  emigration  tide  set  in,  and  Independ- 
ence lost  some  of  its  inhabitants,  who  went  to  Lead- 
ville,  Colorado,  and  other  points — not  always  better- 
ing their  condition.  A  new  set  of  people  took  their 
places,  and  in  a  few  years  business  was  active  as  be- 
fore. Just  then,  Rev.  Dr.  McMullen,  of  Chicago, 
paid  Mother  Francis  a  visit.  He  did  not  know  he 
would  visit  Iowa  a  second  time,  as  first  Bishop  of 
Davenport. 

The  school  pleased  him  so  much,  that  on  his  re- 
turn to  Chicago,  he  sent  his  niece  to  Independence, 
to  pursue  her  studies  under  Mother  Francis'  direction. 
Other  Chicago  friends,  also,  came  west  to  visit  her — 
notably,  Mr.  Conley,  hotel  proprietor,  with  his  wife 
and  two  daughters,  one  of  whom,  an  accomplished 
girl,  had  been  educated  at  St.  Agatha's  Seminary. 
This  family  suffered  heavy  losses  during  the  fire  of 
1871.  Rev.  Dr.  J.  McMullen  and  others  made 
heroic  efforts  to  save  some  fine  oil  paintings,  sent  to 
Mr.  Conley  from  Rome  by  clerical  friends,  with  Mrs. 
Conley 's  jewel  case — a  small  fortune  in  itself — by 
removing  them  to  an  open  space  in  Dearborn  Park. 


MOTHER    BORROMEO'S    DEATH.  145 

In  the  morning  not  a  trace  of  them  could  be  found, 
the  fire-fiend  having  swept  the  neigborhood  during 
the  night. 

A  miniature  Chicago  fire  destroyed  the  greater 
part  of  Independence  the  following  year.  Like  the 
greater  fire  it  was  said  to  be  the  work  of  incendiaries. 
The  convent  stood  on  a  gentle  slope ;  the  town  extended 
to  the  river  from  its  base.  The  flames,  the  falling 
buildings,  the  useless  efforts  of  the  firemen  were  vis- 
ible from  the  porch  where  the  Sisters  were  assembled 
— not  in  fear,  however,  as  the  distance  from  the 
burned  district  was  too  great  to  admit  of  the  fire 
reaching  them. 

Mother  Francis  lost  control  of  herself,  when  the 
shrieks  of  women  and  children  reached  her.  She 
rushed  from  the  porch  to  go  to  their  assistance,  an  act 
from  which  the  Sisters,  with  difficulty,  restrained  her, 
There  was  neither  loss  of  life,  nor  personal  injury, 
but  the  destruction  of  property  was  considerable  for 
a  town  of  its  size,  and  insurance  companies  were  tied 
up  after  the  Chicago  conflagration.  Nevertheless. 
Independence  was  soon  rebuilt. 

She  seemed  to  take  a  new  lease  of  life  under  the 
invigorating  influences  of  the  prairie  breezes,  if  energy 
and  activity  were  marks  of  it.  The  ravages  of  time 
were  stealing  on  unfelt.  Mother  Borromeo  failed 
after  a  surgical  operation  that  did  her  no  good.  Her 
sufferings  were  agonizing  until  death  came  to  her 
relief.     Hers  was  a  beautiful  soul,  that  God  purified 


146    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

in  the  fire  of  affliction,  before  taking  her  to  Himself. 
Mother  Francis  was  almost  inconsolable  for  her  loss, 
they  had  labored  together  so  many  years.  On  the 
death  of  Kev.  Mother  Borromeo,  Mother  M.  Baptist 
became  Superior  of  the  Davenport  community,  and 
looked  to  Mother  Francis  for  guidance  as  her  pre- 
decessor had  done.  Indeed,  a  large  share  of  the 
good  effected  by  this  house,  is  traceable  to  her,  even 
before  she  became  its  Superior. 
.  It  was  of  Mother  M.  Borromeo,  that  Mrs.  Alex- 
ander Sullivan,  of  literary  fame,  wrote:  "  How  beau- 
tiful a  nun's  life  must  be.  I  met  to-day,  in  St.  Xav- 
ier's  Academy,  a  Sister  of  Mercy,  whose  face  I  shall 
not  easily  forget.  White  as  a  statuary  angel's, 
placid,  as  one  not  swayed  by  human  passions,  the 
sanctity  of  God  enveloped  her  like  a  garment." 


CHAPTER   XV. 


THE  NEW  SEE  oF  DAVENPORT.  RT.  REV.  BISHOP 
M'MULLEN.  MOTHER  FRANCIS  SUPERIOR  OF  THE  DAV- 
ENPORT CONVENT.  THE  CHOLERA  A  PECULIAR  BE- 
QUEST. AN  INSANE  WOMAN.  DEATH  OF  BISHOP 
M*  MULLEN. 

FROM  1837,  when  Rt.  Rev.  Mathias  Loras,  was 
the  incumbent  of  the  diocese,  to  1881,  the 
State  of  Iowa  continued  to  be  governed  by  one 
Bishop.  During  this  long  interval  of  forty-four 
years,  the  Catholics,  at  first  few  in  number,  became 
numerous.  The  spires  of  churches,  surmounted  by 
the  cross,  were  visible  everywhere.  The  territory  to 
be  governed,  however,  was  too  large.  Iowa  was  ad- 
mitted to  statehood  in  1846,  from  which  period  the 
progress  of  Catholicity  was* assured. 

Rt.  Rev.  Clement  Smith  ascended  the  episcopal 
throne  in  the  Cathedral  of  Dubuque,  May  3,  1857, 
and  died,  September  22,  1865;  having  governed  the 
diocese  for  eight  years.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rt. 
Rev.  John  Hennessy,  in  1869.  Fifteen  years  later, 
1881,  Iowa  was  divided  into  two  dioceses — Dubuque 

(147) 


148     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

and  Davenport — Rt.  Rev.  John  McMullen  being  con- 
secrated Bishop  of  the  new  see,  July  25,  1881. 
Great  rejoicings  were  made  when  Dr.  McMullen  of 
Chicago,  at  one  time  President  of  the  University  of 
St.  Mary  of  the  Lake,  was  raised  to  the  prelacy. 
(In  his  humility,  he  deemed  himself  unworthy  of 
the  honor).  The  people  of  Chicago  were  pleased 
at  his  elevation,  but  regretted  his  loss.  He  had  en- 
deared himself  to  them  in  many  ways.  Immediately 
after  the  fire,  he  started  on  a  soliciting  tour  through 
the  United  States  and  Canada,  to  collect  funds  to 
help  rebuild  the  ruined  city,  and  succeeded  beyond 
his  hopes. 

The  people  of  Davenport  were  happy  to  have  him 
for  their  Bishop — Mother  Francis  in  her  secluded 
convent  as  much  as  others.  A  deputation  from  Chi- 
cago accompanied  the  Bishop  on  a  special  train  to 
Davenport,  where  citizens  of  all  shades  of  opin- 
ions turned  out  to  bid  him  welcome.  Congratulatory 
letters  by  hundreds  were  sent  to  him — perhaps  one 
of  the  most  heartfelt  came  from  Independence. 

Rev.  Mother  Baptist's  second  term  of  office  ex- 
pired during  the  first  year  of  Bishop  McMullen's 
administration;  and  he  at  once  thought  of  calling  to 
Davenport  his  old  Chicago  friend,  Mother  Francis. 
Bishop  Hennessy  and  he  arranged  the  transfer,  and 
she  obeyed  his  mandate,  without  knowing  that  he 
had  proposed  her  name  for  the  consideration  of  the 
Sisters  at  the  election  about  to  be  held.    She  was  filled 


RT.    REV.    BISHOP    m'mULLEN.  149 

with  consternation  on  hearing  it.  In  the  chapel, 
before  the  Bishop  and  the  Sisters,  when  the  result 
was  made  known,  she  declared  her  un worthiness,  her 
incapacity,  her  failing  health,  her  declining  years, 
her  determination  to  serve,  not  govern,  for  the  re- 
mainder of  her  life.  Independence,  before  the  erec- 
tion of  the  new  diocese,  had  been  a  branch  house 
connected  with  Davenport. 

Bishop  McMullen,  wondering  at  her  humility,  saw 
her  tears,  but  was  not  turned  from  his  purpose. 
"Mother  Francis,"  he  said,  "you  have  been  elected 
Superior  according  to  the  formula  of  your  rule.  I 
give  you  three  days  to  think  the  matter  over,  not- 
withstanding your  protest.  The  experience  of  age 
is  necessary  here.  At  the  end  of  that  time  we  will 
reassemble,  and  come  to  a  decision." 

Mother  Francis  was  silent,  the  three  days  expired, 
and  they  met  as  ordered.  The  Bishop,  then,  with- 
out giving  her  a  chance"  to  remonstrate,  named  her 
Superior.  Yielding  to  the  voice  of  authority,  she 
submitted,  and  again  took  up  the  cross.  Mother  M. 
Baptist  became  her  assistant,  as  she  was,  eventually, 
Mother  Baptist's  assistant.  Bishop  McMullen  be- 
lieved she  would  bring  blessings  to  his  diocese,  as 
she  had  formerly  brought  blessings  to  the  diocese 
of  Chicago.  He  did  not  know  that  his  days  were 
numbered,  and  that  she  would  be  one  of  those  who 
would  weep  beside  his  tomb.  He  sickened  of  a 
mortal    illness    after   two   short  years  of    episcopal 


150    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

duty,  and  she,  as  well  as  thousand  of  others,  was  left 
to  mourn  his  loss. 

With  the  consent  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  and  at 
the  expense  of  the  city  of  Davenport,  the  municipal 
authorities  had  erected  on  the  hospital  grounds,  a 
building  for  the  reception  of  persons  suffering  from 
epidemic  diseases.  It  was  soon  in  requisition  for 
smallpox  patients,  as  the  dreaded  scourge  was  raging 
in  the  city.  To  prevent  the  spread  of  contagion,  the 
doctors  requested  Rev.  Mother  Francis  to  appoint 
Sisters  who  would  not  come  into  contact  with  others, 
to  attend  to  them.  She  did  so,  appointing  three,  and 
stipulating  that  she,  herself,  assist  them. 

"  No,  Mother,"  replied  Dr.  M.,  "  we  will  not  ac- 
cept you.  Your  services  are  too  valuable  to  the  com- 
munity. My  confreres,  myself  and  the  Sisters  will 
attend  to  the  smallpox  cases,  and  to  nothing  else, 
for  the  present.  You  are  not  to  come  inside  the 
door,  although  the  house  is  on  your  property."  Rev. 
Mother,  in  her  charity  for  the  stricken,  still  insisted 
on  helping  to  nurse  them,  but  was  fin  illy  and  posi- 
tively refused.  She  went  daily,  however,  to  the  gate 
of  the  enclosure,  carrying  the  Sisters'  food,  and 
bringing  delicacies' for  the  patients.  It  was  hard  to 
obey  the  doctors  in  this  instance,  but  she  conquered 
herself.  For  several  weeks,  the  Sisters,  isolated  in 
the  building  with  the  putrid  patients,  nursed  them 
day  and  night,  washed  and  fed  them,  and  when  dead 
— for  most  of  them  died — put  them  into  coffins  with 


RT.    REV.    BISHOP    M'MULLEN.  151 

their  own  hands.  Mother  Francis'  great  regret  was 
that  she  could  not  help. 

The  smallpox  at  last  disappeared,  and  strange  to 
say  the  Sisters  escaped  unhurt.  That  the  city  coun- 
cil acted  wisely  in  erecting  this  hospital  on  the  Sis- 
ters' property  can  hardly  be  doubted.  The  idea  may 
have  originated  in  the  following  fact:  Shortly  after 
Mercy  Hospital  was  opened  in  Davenport,  cholera 
broke  out.  Business  was  paralyzed.  The  more 
prominent  citizen's  fled.  Cholera  tents,  placecd 
along  the  Iowa  side  of  the  Mifsissippi,  were  filled 
with  helpless  human  beings. 

The  medical  men  of  the  city  were  at  their  wits  end 
to  find  nurses  that  could  with  difficulty  be  found,  so 
great  was  the  fear  of  approaching  the  cholera  pa- 
tients. The  great  Davenport  surgeon — Dr.  Peck — 
suggested  that  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  be  called  to  their 
aid;  a  call  that  was  instantly  responded  to  by  Rev. 
Mother  Borromeo  and  the  Sisters.  Dr.  Peck,  with 
other  physicians,  Mother  Borromeo  and  her  assist- 
ants accordingly  took  charge  of  the  tents  and  their 
occupants;  not  once  ceasing  in  their  humanitarian 
efforts  until  the  cholera  germ  was  destroyed;  and 
Davenport  was  declared  to  be  again  in  a  sanitary 
condition.  It  was  remarked  that  neither  doctors  or 
nurses  caught  the  disease.  Dr.  Peck  and  the  Sisters 
of  Mercy  were  co-laborers  for  more  than  twenty  years, 
ministering  to  the  sufferers  of  Iowa  and  adjacent 
states.     He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Medical 


152     LIFE  OF  MOTHEK  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

School  and  Clinical  Hospital  of  Iowa  State  Univer- 
sity, where  his  name  will  be  long  remembered.  Dr. 
Peck  died  December  12,  1891,  a  special  anniversary 
of  the  order  with  which  he  was  so  long  and  intim- 
ately connected. 

Mother  Francis  urged  Mother  Borromeo  to  accept 
the  proposal  of  the  city — to  build  their  hospital  in 
connection  with  Mercy  Hospital,  and  it  stands  there 
to-day  ready  for  emergencies.  Not  Mother  Bor- 
romeo, however,  but  Mother  Francis,  was  the  person 
destined  to  see  its  usefulness  tested. 

A  Davenport  lady,  benevolently  inclined,  asked 
Bishop  McMullen  to  which  of  the  religious  orders 
in  the  city  she  ought  to  donate  her  house  and  lot. 
requiring  in  return  support  for  life.  The  Bishop 
referred  her  to  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  who  accepted, 
in  good  faith,  both  the  gift  and  the  donor.  A  day 
school  was  opened  in  the  house;  the  lady  occupied 
reserved  apartments,  receiving  due  attention  from 
the  Sisters  for  many  years.  Afterward,  repenting 
herself,  she  discovered,  through  interested  parties, 
a  technical  flaw  in  the  deed  she  had  given  to  the 
Hospital.  Mother  Francis  received  notice  that  she 
must  pay  rent  for  the  property,  many  times  repaired 
by  her  during  its  occupancy,  as  she  could  no  longer 
hold  it  legally. 

She  refused  to  pay  rent,  but,  rather  than  lose  all 
she  had  expended,  offered  to  buy  it  at  a  price  named 
by  unbiased  persons.     This  proposal  preventing  liti- 


DEATH    OP    BISHOP    M* MULLEN.  153 

gation,  the  lady  agreed  to  it.  A  price  was  named; 
the  property  was  bought  and  paid  for.  The  old 
frame  house  was  immediately  torn  down,  and  a  fine 
brick  edifice  erected  in  its  stead.  St.  Mary's  School, 
so  called  in  honor  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  is  an  arch- 
tectural  addition  to  the  city  of  Davenport,  with  its 
large  statue  of  Our  Lady  of  Victory  standing  con- 
spicuously above  the  main  entrance. 

On  one  occasion,  Mother  Francis  was  officially 
notified  to  appear  at  the  Davenport  Court  House,  to 
answer  to  charges  preferred  against  her  by  a  female 
patient,  recently  discharged  from  the  Insane  Asylum 
under  her  care.  The  charges  were  cruelty,  starva- 
tion, illegal  detention,  and  things  of  the  kind.  The 
plaintiff  was  the  only  witness.  As  she  had  been 
sent  from  the  State  Asylum  for  Insane,  at  Mount 
Pleasant,  to  the  Sisters'  Asylum  in  Davenport,  the 
charges  were  easily  refuted  by  Mother  Francis,  with- 
out the  aid  of  counsel. 

Baffled,  but  not  satisfied,  her  lawyer  had  the  wit- 
ness called  to  the  stand  a  second  time,  when  sh^ 
became  so  violent,  and  incoherent  in  her  language, 
that  it  was  evident  to  the  lookers-on,  she  was  still  an 
insane  woman.  Mother  Francis  seized  the  opportu- 
nity to  ask:  "Can  an  insane  person's  evidence  be 
received  in  a  court  of  justice?"  His  Honor,  on  the 
bench,  answered:  "  No,''  and  the  case  was  dropped. 
By  a  certain  class  of  people,  this  trial  was  looked 
forward  to  with  interest,  as  being  likely  to  expose 


154     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

the  iniquities  of  Catholic  management.  It  failed 
ignominiously. 

Mount  Pleasant  Hospital  was  constantly  sending 
"  incurables  "  to  Davenport,  having  no  room  for  this 
class  of  patients.  Every  nook  and  corner  in  the 
Sisters'  Asylum  was  filled  with  them.  As  a  matter 
of  charity,  therefore,  as  much  as  of  necessity,  Mother 
Francis  built,  for  their  accommodation,  an  asylum  in 
the  rear  of  the  Hospital,  capable  of  containing  300 
beds,  representing  as  many  patients.  Financially, 
this  was  no  strain  on  her,  because,  although  remu- 
neration, individually,  was  small,  collectively,  when 
their  number  ran  up  into  the  hundreds,  it  amounted 
to  a  respectable  sum.  Scott  County,  of  which  Daven- 
port is  the  county  seat,  has  always  acted  liberally 
with  the  Sisters  of  Mercy.  Nor  has  the  county  lost 
by  it.  On  the  contrary,  the  Board  of  Supervisors 
acknowledge  they  have  been  well  served,  and  their 
insane  well  cared  for. 

In  1882,  Bishop  McMullen  showed  signs  of  failing 
health,  to  the  great  sorrow  of  his  people  who  had 
learned  to  love  him.  His  simple,  unassuming  man- 
ners endeared  him  to  his  priests,  to  whom  he  had 
been,  until  recently,  a  comparative  stranger.  Words 
could  not  express  the  sorrow  caused  by  the  news  of 
his  fatal  illness.  He  was  one  of  those  rare  char- 
acters who  forget  themselves  for  others.  Even  when 
the  hand  of  death  lay  heavy  on  him,  he  did  not 
complain. 


DEATH    OF    BISHOP    M'MULLEN.  155 

Dr.  Peck,  admiring  him  as  a  man,  though  not  of 

his  faith,  used  every  means  known  to  medical  science 
to  give  him  relief,  without  avail.  Mother  Francis, 
or  Sisters  sent  by  her.  visited  him  daily,  but  dared 
not  let  him  see  their  grief.  He  knew  the  end  had 
come,  and  was  prepared  for  it.  His  lips  moved  con- 
stantly in  prayer.  The  priviliged  few  admitted  to 
his  presence  while  he  was  confined  to  his  room, 
suffering  untold  agony,  marvelled  at  his  patience. 

The  Sisters  of  Mercy,  whom  he  regarded  as  the 
dearest  portion  of  his  flock,  attended  him  to  the  last. 
On  July  4th,  1883,  he  calmly  yielded  up  his  spirit  to 
Him  who  gave  it,  mourned  for  by  the  entire  diocese. 
Although  expecting  it,  Mother  Francis  was  pros- 
trated by  his  death.  The  grave  was  ever  opening  to 
receive  those  she  loved.  When  his  body  was  brought 
to  the  church,  crowds  gathered  around  the  coffin 
to  take  a  last  look  at  Davenport's  dead  prelate,  testi- 
fying, by  tears,  how  deep  was  the  sense  of  their 
bereavement.  Rt.  Rev.  John  McMullen  was  laid 
to  rest  under  the  altar  of  St.  Margaret's  Cathedral. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


RT.  REV.  BISHOP  COSGROVE,  CONSECRATION  AT  CATHE- 
DRAL. REV.  MOTHER  M.  BAPTIST.  MOTHER  FRAN- 
CIS, ASSISTANT.  LAST  ILLNESS.  DEATH  OF  MOTHER 
FRANCIS.       A    MARTRY'S    BODY.      FUNERAL    SERVICES. 

TpROM  the  date  of  Bishop  McMullen's  death, 
-*-  until  September  14,  1884,  the  See  of  Daven- 
port remained  vacant.  Much  speculation  regarding 
his  successor  was  indulged  in.  When  Rome  spoke 
the  speculation  ceased.  A  worthy  successor  to  the 
deceased  prelate  was  found  in  Rev.  Hanry  Cosgrove, 
for  many  years  pastor  of  St.  Margaret's  Church, 
Davenport,  before  it  became  a  cathedral. 

Iowa,  one  of  the  youngest  States  in  the  Union, 
had  the  unique  honor  of  giving  to  the  Church  a 
Bishop  who  was  to  remain  within  its  boundaries. 
The  nomination  gave  universal  satisfaction.  Father 
Cosgrove  was  one  of  Iowa's  most  venerated  priests. 
The  ceremonies  of  his  consecration  were  carried  out 
with  great  splendor,  Archbishop  Feehan,  of  Chi- 
cago, Archbishop  Ireland,  of  St.  Paul,  Bishop,  now 
Archbishop,  Hennessy,  of  Dubuque,  with  other  high 

(156) 


RT.    REV.    BISHOP   COSGROVE.  157 

ecclesiastical  dignitaries,  being  present  on  the  occa- 
sion. The  priests  of  the  diocese  completely  filled 
the  sanctuary. 

Rt.  Rev.  Henry  Cosgrove  was  the  sixth  Bishop 
with  whom  Rev.  Mother  Francis  had  spiritual  and 
business  relations  during  her  religious  life.  The 
Sisters  were  given  a  holiday,  and  all  who  could  be 
spared  attended  the  consecration.  Mercy  Hospital, 
Davenport,  and  its  annex,  St.  Mary's  School,  were 
favored  with  early  visits  from  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop, 
who  was  especially  pleased  with  the  magnitude  of 
the  work  done  in  the  hospital. 

Rev.  Mother  Francis'  second  term  of  office  in 
Davenport  closed  in  1887,  when  Rev.  Mother  Bap- 
tist, who  had  been  Superior  before,  again  resumed 
the  charge.  She  selected  Mother  Francis  for  her 
Assistant,  a  position  she  retained  until  her  death  the 
following  year.  Occasionally,  Mother  Francis  came 
into  contact  with  persons  whe  had  but  slight  knowl- 
edge of  asceticism,  and  these  could  neither  appre- 
ciate nor  understand  the  greatness  of  her  character. 
Religious  are  prone  to  judge  hypercritically  of  each 
other,  Father  Faber  says. 

It  is  supposed  her  death  was  hastened  by  exposure 
while  superintending  the  erection  of  St.  Mary's 
School.  She  never  spared  herself,  at  all  events.  At 
the  close  of  November,  1888,  she  suffered  from  an 
affection  of  the  heart,  which  confined  her  to  her  bed 
for  the  first  time  in  many  years.     A  strange  feeling 


158     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

of  loneliness,  never  before  experienced,  took  posses- 
sion of  her,  but  soon  passed  away, 

Although  in  her  seventy -second  year,  she  was 
strong  and  vigorous  until  this  attack,  and  no  appre- 
hension of  its  fatal  ending  was  felt.  Not  for  a 
moment  was  the  clearness  of  her  intellect  clouded. 
Short  of  stature,  and  growing  fleshy  with  advancing 
years,  it  was  often  predicted  that  she  would  die  of 
apoplexy.  Mother  Francis  did  not  so  die.  She  died 
in  the  full  possession  of  her  faculties — conscious  of 
the  act  of  dying — longing  to  be  with.  Him  she  had 
well  served.  Her  perfect  calmness  and  self-posses- 
sion prevented  the  sisters  from  realizing  that  they 
were  about  to  lose  her,  until  some  one  noticed  a  sud- 
den change  in  her  features,  and  only  then  was  she 
anointed,  after  receiving  the  Holy  Viaticum. 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  witness,  unmoved,  the 
solemn  ceremony  of  administering  Extreme  Unction. 
The  thin  veil  that  separates  time  from  eternity, 
drawn  aside  by  invisible  hands  before  the  eyes  of 
the  dying,  almost  reveals  the  Great  Beyond  at  that 
supreme  moment,  making  the  spectators  long  to  pass 
the  boundary  then,  that  must  be  passed  sooner  or 
later.  There  were  those  present  during  Mother 
Francis'  gentle  agony,  who  would  have  fain  gone 
with  her.     After  being  anointed  she  sank  rapidly. 

The  Sisters  wept  aloud.  "  Dear  Sisters,"  mur- 
mured the  dying  nun,  "  do  not  let  me  see  tears.  It 
will   break   my   heart.     Let   me  pass  quietly  to  my 


RT.    REV.    BISHOP   COSGROVE.  159 

God."  And  she  was  gone.  The  great,  heroic  soul 
of  Mother  Francis  de  Sales — without  a  struggle — 
went  forth  to  meet  its  Creator. 

A  radiant  smile  settled  on  her  countenance.  She 
had  seen  Jesus,  and  was  welcomed  by  Him.  Her 
toils,  her  labors,  her  crosses,  were  ended  at  last.  The 
day  previous,  she  arose  to  hear  mass,  but  failed  in 
the  attempt.  A  few  of  the  old  Sisters  who  began 
convent  life  with  her  in  Chicago,  witnessed  her  holy 
death.  Others  who  knew  her  in  later  years,  were 
present,  also.  But  the  love  of  the  former  for  their 
dead  mother,  surpassed  the  love  of  the  latter,  who 
knew  not  the  wonders  she  had  wrought,  who  knew 
not  her  faithful,  loyal  heart. 

It  was  the  blessed  privilege  of  those  who  prepared 
her  body  for  interment,  to  look  upon  the  body  of  a 
martyr.  The  leg  injured  in  early  life  by  erysipelas, 
was  found  to  be  shortened,  shriveled,  deeply  indented 
by  the  iusiduous  disease.  Yet  she  walked  on  it  dur- 
ing a  long  and  busy  career,  incessantly. 

Decayed  splinters  of  her  right  jaw-bone,  broken 
by  a  Chicago  dentist  while  extracting  a  tooth,  had 
pierced  through  the  flesh  in  many  places,  forcing 
their  way  out,  causing  incredible  pain,  which  she 
bore  for  more  than  twenty  years  without  complaint. 
Dr.  N.  S.  Davis  feared,  but  proposed  an  operation, 
to  which  she  would  not  consent.  The  scars  left 
small  cavities  in  her  neck,  that  caused  a  slight  de- 
pression of  the  mouth  at  that  side  of  her  face. 


160    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLANH. 

The  use  of  the  cilice  was  familiar  to  her.  A  Sis- 
ter who  occupied  the  same  cell  with  Mother  Francis, 
once  heard  her  moaning  in  the  night.  Fearing  she 
had  an  attack  of  apoplexy,  she  arose,  to  find,  on  loos- 
ening her  clothing,  the  iron  chain  encircling  her 
body,  imbedded  in  the  flesh.  Horror-stricken,  be- 
cause unused  to  such  a  mode  of  penance,  herself,  she 
took  off  the  chain,  thereby  awakening  holy,  mor- 
tified Mother  Francis.  "  Deru-  Sister,"  she  said,  in 
extreme  confusion,  "  I  am  sorry  you  discovered  this. 
It  seems  as  if  God  will  not  accept  my  penance,  since 
He  permits  it  to  be  known.  Please,  do  not  mention 
it  to  any  one,  and  give  me  back  my  chain.  You  do 
not  know  how  much  I  need  it." 

The  cilice,  whose  marks  were  visible  on  her  blessed 
body  after  death,  was  not  returned.  Hastening  on 
a  certain  occasion  to  perform  an  obedience  given  by 
her  Superior,  she  fell  down  stairs,  striking  on  a  call- 
ing-bell, the  handle  of  which  was  forced  into  her  hip 
fully  an  inch.  She  arose  as  if  nothing  had  hap- 
pened, proceeded  on  foot  to  the  convent  on  "Wabash 
Avenue,  whither  she  was  summoned,  tracking  the 
sidewalk  with  her  blood,  and  fainted  when  she  en- 
tered the  house.  The  Sister  who  accompanied  her 
only  then  knew  of  the  accident. 

This  wound,  dressed  only  by  herself,  never  properly 
healed,  and  appeared  in  all  its  ghastliness,  when  she 
no  longer  had  the  power  to  conceal  it.  Thus  have 
the  saints  ever  acted,  for  love  of  Jesus,  crucified. 


DEATH   OF    MOTHER    FRANCIS.  161 

It  is  simple  truth  to  record  these  things,  because 
they  revealed  themselves  like  an  open  book  to  the 
astonished  Sisters  who  beheld  them,  "How  could 
she  possibly  have  continued  laboring  in  the  functions 
of  the  Institute,"  they  asked  themselves.  To  which 
question  no  other  answer  can  be  given,  than,  that, 
with  the  help  of  God,  she  did  so  continue  to  labor 
until  a  few  days  before  her  happy  death.  The  rigor 
with  which  she  treated  her  body  was  not  suspected 
until  then,  although  many  knew  of  her  extreme  mor- 
tifications. It  was  a  subject  of  edification,  as  well 
as  of  wonder,  reminding  one  of  the  macerations  read 
of  in  the  lives  of  the  Fathers  of  the  desert.  Her 
bodily  condition  made  others  reflect,  that,  if  they 
could  not  imitate  her  penances,  they  ought  at  least 
bear  pain  patiently. 

The  funeral  services  were  held  in  the  convent 
chapel,  three  days  after  her  decease.  Rt.  Rev. 
Bishop  Cosgrove  officiated  in  the  solemn  requiem 
mass,  assisted  by  Rev.  Father  Flannery,  of  Dav- 
enport, and  Rev.  Fr.  Greves,  of  Moline,  Illinois. 
Revs.  J.  P.  Ryan,  P.  Hoffman,  A.  Nierman  and 
J.  Shulte  took  part  in  the  ceremonies.  There  were 
in  the  sanctuary,  Rev.  D.  Riordan,  of  Chicago, 
Rev.  M.  Flavin,  of  DesMoines,  Rev.  T.  Mackin,  of 
Illinois,  and  many  other  clergymen  who  had  known 
and  reverenced  the  holy  deceased  during  life. 

The  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  Dr.  McGovern, 
of  Lockport,  Illinois,  and  was  an  eloquent  tribute  to 


162    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

the  memory  of  one  of  the  holiest  religious  women  of 
our  time.  Dr.  McGovern  had  been  a  pupil  of  Mother 
■Francis  in  his  boyhood.  When  he  decided  on  enter- 
ing the  ecclesiastical  state,  before  going  to  Rome,  he 
knelt  to  receive  her  blessing.  When  he  returned,  an 
anointed  priest  of  God,  she  knelt  to  receive  his. 

The  interment  took  place  in  the  convent  cemetery, 
a  large  number  of  Sisters  of  Mercy  from  Illinois, 
and  different  parts  of  Iowa  being  present.  The 
words  written  in  memory  of  another  religious,  who 
has  long  since  slept  beside  "the  waters  of  the  Boyne," 
may  be  fittingly  applied  to  Mother  Francis: 

"Laden  with  harvest  spoils,  she  entered 

In  at  the  golden  gate  of  rest; 
Laid  her  sheaves  at  the  feet  of  the  Master, 

And  took  her  station  among  the  blest!" 


CHAPTEK    XVII. 


CONVENT  CHARACTERISTICS.  OFFICE  FOR  THE  DEAD. 
HEMORRHAGES.  PENANCE.  FAITH.  SELF-CONTROL. 
PRAYER.  CHARITY.  A  CUP  OF  TEA.  AN  ANGRY 
CARPENTER.       ST.    MONICA'S    PLAN.       IMPATIENCE. 

IpROM  the  day  on  which  her  religious  life  began, 
-*-  to  the  day  of  her  passage  to  eternity,  Mother 
Francis  was  a  model  of  regular  observance  of  rule. 
In  her  declining  years,  as  in  the  years  of  her  first 
fervor,  she  never  absented  herself  from  community 
exercises  when  it  was  possible  to  be  present.  The 
first  in  the  chapel  for  morning  meditation,  she  was 
generally  the  last  to  leave  it  after  night  prayers. 

There  was  an  exception,  however,  recitation  of  the 
Office  for  the  Dead,  in  choir,  which,  for  a  time,  had 
so  depressing  an  effect  on  her,  that  she  was  permitted 
to  recite  it  privately.  This  feeling  passed  away  with 
time.  Death  —  dissolution  —  the  soul  leaving  the 
body,  pulseless,  rigid,  cold,  was  a  subject  on  which 
she  did  not  love  to  dwell.  Her  bright,  warm  spirit 
shrank  from  the  silent  inaction  of  the  grave  ;  yet 
the  grave  was  constantly  opening  to  receive  those 
she  held  dearest  on  earth. 

(163) 


164    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

In  mercy  and  love,  God  appointed  her  a  brief 
agony.  This  peculiarity  was  natural  in  a  person  of 
her  unusual  activity  of  mind,  and  ardent  temper- 
ament. As  years  rolled  by,  and  trials  of  every  kind 
pressed  upon  her,  the  horror  of  death  became  less 
acute.     Her  own  death  was  as  peaceful   as  a  child's. 

She  had  frequent  hemorrhages,  resulting  from  at- 
tacks of  erysipelas.  At  those  times  she  would  kneel 
on  the  floor,  holding  her  head  over  a  basin  until  it 
was  nearly  half  filled  with  blood;  then,  rising  weak 
and  exhausted,  would  say  to  whoever  happened  to 
be  near,  "  Is  not  God  good  to  let  me  stay  a  little 
while  with  him  in  Gethsemani.  He  was  bathed  in 
blood  there,  you  remember." 

Sometimes  her  eyes  swelled  to  bursting,  and  she 
became  temporarily  blind  under  the  severity  of  at- 
tacks also  caused  by  erysipelas.  Even  then  she 
managed  to  attend  the  spiritual  duties.  A  Sister  led 
her  to  the  chapel,  which  she  could  not  reach  without 
assistance,  placed  her  in  her  stall,  enabling  her  in 
this  way  to  join  in  the  prayers  of  the  community.  It 
was  a  sad  but  edifying  sight,  and  had  a  powerful  ef- 
fect in  keeping  up  the  fervor  of  younger  members. 
"What  Rev.  Mother  does,  we  can  do,"  they  said. 

Her  shoes,  generally  the  worst  in  the  house,  were 
often  filled  with  sand  or  pebbles,  that  her  sound  foot, 
as  well  as  the  maimed  one,  might  share  in  her  daily 
penances.  She  crucified  her  flesh  unrelentingly. 
Indeed,  if  the  Sisters  had  not  made  it  a  point  to 


CONVENT    CHARACTERISTICS.  165 

watch  how  she  was  clothed,  and  at  night,  while  she 
slept,  replace  her  worn-out,  patched-up  garments  by 
better  ones,  she  would  have  suffered  from  insufficient 
clothing.  In  the  matter  of  food  she  was  equally  for- 
getful of  herself.  Many  a  time,  at  the  close  of  a  long 
and  busy  day,  she  had  to  be  reminded  that  she  had 
not  eaten  since  morning. 

"If  you  had  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  you 
could  remove  mountains."  Resting  on  this  Divine 
utterance,  Mother  Francis'  faith  was  strong  as  "the 
everlasting  hills."  Obstacles  and  opposition  were  no 
barriers  to  her  spirit  of  progress.  "  God  helps  those 
who  help  themselves,"  she  would  say  when  difficul- 
ties assailed  her.  "  He  never  failed  to  help  me,  and 
I  know  He  will  not  fail  to  help  me  now." 

Nor  did  He  ever  fail  her.  Very  often  she  found 
"  the  stone  rolled  from  the  door  of  the  monument," 
when  least  expecting  it.  Faith  made  her  superior  to 
the  vicissitudes  of  life.  She  could  be  tried  or  op- 
posed, but  not  left  anchorless.  "  Believing  all  things, 
hoping  all  things,  enduring  all  things,"  her  soul  was 
capable  of  doing  much  for  God. 

Naturally  quick-tempered,  impetuous  and  impuls- 
ive, she  strove,  by  constant  watchfulness  over  self, 
to  correct  these  imperfections — to  become  like  her 
gentle  patron,  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  calm  in  action, 
considerate  for  others,  meek  and  humble.  It  cost 
many  a  struggle,  but  by  the  power  of  grace  she  tri- 
umphed over  nature,  and  in  her  life  exemplified  the 


166  LIFE    OF    MOTHEE    MAEY     MONHOLLAND. 

fulfilment  of  the  Divine  precept,  "  Learn  of  me,Wlio 
am  meek  and  humble  of  heart,  and  you  shall  find 
peace  in  your  souls." 

In  recompense,  God  made  her  life  a  continuous 
prayer,  during  which  her  heart  and  lips  ever  com- 
muned with  Him.  Before  the  Tabernacle  she  knelt, 
motionless  as  a  statue — enwrapt,  as  though  no  longer 
an  inhabitant  of  this  world.  "  Come  to  Me,  all  you 
that  labor  and  are  burdened,  and  I  will  refresh  you," 
was  an  invitation  she  heeded  well;  and  the  burdens 
laid  upon  her,  that  increased  with  years,  were  placed 
at  her  Master's  feet,  for  His  disposal.  In  prayer  she 
received  strength  of  soul,  learned  to  bear  and  forbear 
with  others,  and  with  herself.  When  suffering  any 
mental  strain  she  laid  her  sorrow  at  the  foot  of  the 
altar,  and  came  away  happy  and  resigned. 

Mother  Francis'  religious  life  was  modeled  on  the 
words  of  St.  Paul:  "If  I  should  give  all  my  goods 
to  feed  the  poor,  and  deliver  my  body  to  be  burned, 
and  have  not  charity,  it  would  profit  me  nothing." 

Some  said  she  was  charitable  to  a  fault.  It  was 
remarked,  at  all  events,  that  to  be  loved  by  her  it  was 
only  necessary  to  do  her  an  injury.  A  Sister,  who 
had  so  far  forgotten  the  amenities  as  to  speak  dis- 
paragingly when  she  first  became  Superior,  feared 
to  approach  hers  but  in  the  routine  of  duty  was 
obliged  not  only  to  approach,  but  explain.  Mother 
Francis  listened  silently  and  then  said:  "Dear  Sis- 
ter, let  the   past  be   forgotten — absolutely.     Begin, 


CONVENT   CHARACTEHISTICS.  167 

from  this  moment,  as  if  no  cloud  had  come  between 
us,  and  we  will  be  Sisters,  not  alone  in  name,  but  in 
heart,  as  we  ought  to  be." 

The  Sister,  overcome  by  this  manner  of  condoning 
her  offense,  melted  into  tears,  and  a  true  sisterly  af- 
fection ever  after  existed  between  them.  Mother 
Francis'  magnetic  charity  dissipated  her  little  antip- 
athies, as  it  had  done  with  others  in  more  serious  in- 
stances. Few  could  steel  themselves  against  the 
goodness  of  her  heart. 

It  not  unfrequently  happened  that  other  houses  of 
the  order  in  distress  applied  to  her  for  help,  which 
was  always  generously  given;  as  it  was,  to  convents 
of  different  orders  in  straitened  circumstances. 
Clergymen,  short  of  funds,  in  shattered  health, 
both  from  Illinois  and  Iowa,  occasionally  sought 
admission  to  the  hospital  and  were  invariably  re- 
ceived, Mother  Francis  asking  only  a  memento  in 
their  prayers,  with  masses  for  herself  and  the  com- 
munity. Abundant,  unexpected  benedictions  fol- 
lowed these  admissions. 

"  Don't  let  that  old  woman  fool  you  so,  Mother 
Francis,"  said  a  Sister  one  day,  noticing  an  unsteady - 
looking  applicant  for  help  in  the  Intelligence  Office, 
where  Mother  Francis  was  listening  to  her  tale  of 
woe.  "Although  she  says  she  has  not  tasted  a  cup 
of  tea  for  a  week,  she  was  locked  up  in  the  bride- 
well, last  time  I  made  the  visitation  there,  for  inebri- 
ety.    She  had  money  to  spend  that  way." 


168    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

"  Poor  old  soul!  she  needs  a  cup  of  tea  if  she  has 
been  in  the  bridewell.  Please  get  it  for  her  your- 
self, Sister,"  answered  Rev.  Mother.  "If  mistakes 
are  made,  and  they  are  unavoidable  in  this  world, 
they  had  better  be  made  on  the  side  of  charity." 

An  employee  at  St.  Agatha's  Academy,  when  it 
was  first  established,  was  a  sort  of  necessary  evil 
around  the  place.  He  did  his  work,  and  he  did  it 
well.  As  an  offset,  however,  his  temper  was  intoler- 
able. At  times  no  one  but  Mother  Francis  could 
approach  him,  and  as  he  knew  a  substitute  could  not 
easily  be  gotten,  he  was  insolent  even  to  her.  A 
straw  lying  in  this  man's  way  made  him  furious;  in 
consequence  of  which  unfortunate  fact  Mother  Francis 
charitably  retained  him,  and  managed  as  best  she 
could.  He  understood  this  well  enough,  and  repaid 
her  with  ingratitude. 

There  is  a  story  told  of  a  lady  in  the  early  ages  of 
Christianity,  who  entreated  a  holy  Bishop  to  procure 
her  a  servant  who  had  a  bad  temper,  that  she  might 
acquire  the  virtue  of  patience  which  she  did  not  then 
possess.  The  Bishop  easily  procured  such  a  one, 
and  sent  her  to  the  lady,  for  which,  after  some  hard 
experiences,  she  thanked  him. 

"I  am  learning  the  secret  of  patience,  at  last, 
Bishop,  thanks  to  your  kindness  in  accommodating 
me  with  the  worst-tempered  woman  I  ever  met.  She 
abuses  me  from  morning  till  night;  says  I  starve  and 
ill-treat  her;  could  not  do  an  act  of  charity  if  I  tried. 


st.  monica's  plan.  169 

and  that,  in  one  word,  I  am  a  monster  of  cruelty.  I 
will  keep  her,  nevertheless,  as  long  as  she  lives.  At 
the  time  of  her  death — which  is  not  likely  to  occur 
soon — I  think  I  shall  be  patient  enough." 

The  Bishop  smiled  and  said:  ''I  hope  so.  But, 
my  dear  madam,  few,  besides  yourself,  would  care 
to  acquire  patience  at  such  a  price.  If  you  can  keep 
that  woman,  whose  maliciousness  I  have  heard  of  for 
years,  you  will  be  a  saint  and  will  have  my  blessing." 
Mother  Francis'  cross  man  was  the  counterpart  of  this 
lady's  cross  woman,  holding  his  position,  perhaps,  for 
similar  reasons,  until  the  following  incident  occurred: 

A  carpenter,  hanging  outside-blinds  on  the  second 
story  windows  of  the  academy,  being  hurriedly  called 
elsewhere,  dropped  his  chisel  at  the  cross  man's  feet, 
who  happened  to  be  passing  beneath.  A  yell  of  rage 
caused  Mother  Francis,  who  was  also  on  the  second 
floor,  to  open  a  window  and  look  down. 

"Get  out  of  the  way,"  she  said.  "If  one  of  these 
blinds  falls  you  may  be  hurt." 

"Get  out  of  the  way  yourself,"  he  shouted  back. 
"I  will  not  stir  until  I  lay  my  hands  on  whoever 
threw  this  chisel  at  me."  Scarcely  were  the  words 
spoken,  when  the  half -screwed  blind  dropped  on  his 
head,  felling  him  to  the  ground.  He  was  silent  then, 
and  frightened  Mother  Francis,  who  witnessed  the 
accident,  was  beside  him  in  a  moment  with  her  med- 
icine chest.  If  she  waited  until  a  doctor  came  from 
the  city  he  would  probably  have  died. 


170    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

She  raised  his  head  gently  on  her  knees;  saw  he 
had  received  a  deep  scalp  wound;  sponged  away  the 
blood;  and  applied  bands  of  adhesive  plaster.  He 
then  opened  his  angry  eyes  to  say,  not,  "  Thank  you," 
but — "  Where  is  the  carpenter?  You  told  him  to  do 
that,  and  you  will  be  sorry  for  it.  I'll  have  revenge 
some  way."  Failing  to  find  the  object  of  his  wrath, 
he  left  the  next  day  for  northern  Iowa,  where  he 
got  into  an  altercation  about  a  land  claim  with  In- 
dians still  lingering  in  that  section,  who  killed  him. 
Mother  Francis  wept  for  his  untimely  end. 

Husbands  and  wives  at  variance,  often  came  to  her 
to  explain  their  conjugal  infelicities;  asking  advice 
or  sympathy.  With  these  people  she  usually  acted 
on  the  plan  of  St.  Monica.  "My  dear  sir,"  she 
would  say  to  the  irate  husband,  "you  are  the  party  to 
blame.  Your  wife  admits  that  you  are  kind  and 
good  to  her.  If  you  did  not  contradict  her  so  often 
you  would  be  the  happiest  people  in  the  world." 

"  Did  she  really  say,  I  was  kind.  That  beats 
everything.  Indeed,  then,  I  am  kind  and  good  to 
her.  The  neighbors  know  it.  They  never  hear  me 
abusing  her,  any  way.  She  is  kind  and  good  to  me 
if  we  do  quarrel  once  in  a  while.  I  won't  contradict 
her  again,  Mother  Francis,"  which  assurance  restored 
peace  to  the  household  temporarily,  at  least. 

With  aggrieved  wives  she  used  the  same  laudable 
tactics.  "My  child,  your  husband  thinks  the  world 
of  you.     He  only   wants  you  not  to  scold  him    so 


st.  monica's  plan.  171 

often  for  his  failings.  You  have  failings,  yourself. 
Men  do  not  like  to  be  scolded  for  everything;  and 
you  are  not  an  angel." 

"  I  believe  he  does  think  the  world  of  me,  Mother 
Francis,  and  I  think  the  world  of  him.  Sure,  he 
ought  to  know  that  by  this  time.  I  will  scold  him 
no  more  after  this  blessed  day.  Maybe  our  troubles 
will  be  over  then,  please  God,"  the  weeping  woman 
would  reply.  Sometimes  these  promises  were  kept. 
Sometimes  they  were  not  kept.  But  domestic  harmony 
was  often  the  result  of  Mother  Francis'  wisdom  in 
pouring  oil  on  troubled  waters. 

Even  Sisters  have  moments  when  things  seem 
to  jar.  "  Dear  Mother,  I  have  got  the  blues,"  some 
one  would  say.  "  Why  does  not  the  Blessed  Virgin 
answer  my  prayers?  I  have  prayed  so  long  for  a 
particular  intention  without  being  heard,  that  I  am 
♦  discouraged." 

'•  She  does  hear  you,  Sister.  She  was  commanded 
to  hear  you.  '  Woman,  behold  thy  son.'  Do  you 
forget?"  would  be  the  reassuring  answer.  "Yes, 
but  the  days  are  so  short.  There  is  so  much  work 
to  be  done,  and  so  many  better  ways  of  doing  it;  I 
become  impatient  as  well  as  discouraged." 

"  A  Sister  of  Mercy  impatient!  Rome  was  not 
built  in  a  day.  The  Messiah  did  not  come  into  the 
world  for  4,000  years  after  being  promised.  The 
Blessed  Virgin  was  not  taken  to  heaven  for  twelve 
years    after   the    Ascension.     Time    is    a   shadow,  a 


172     LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MAEY  MONHOLLAND. 

dream,  compared  to  eternity.  Our  Lord  spent  thirty 
years  of  His  life,  preparing  for  His  ministry  of 
three.  Now,  speak  of  impatience.  Your  prayers 
will  be  heard,  and  answered  as  God  knows  best;  " 
and  the  doubting  one  believed  and  hoped  with  profit 
to  her  soul. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 


CONVENT  CHAKACTERISTICS,  CONTINUED.  DEVOTION 
TO  THE  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION.  THE  LAKE 
WATER.  FAITH  IN  ST.  JOSEPH'S  INTERCESSION. 
PATIENCE.  AN  OBSTINATE  CARRIAGE  DRIVER.  THE 
END. 

IN  1854,  when  the  dogma  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception was  declared  to  be  an  article  of  faith  by 
the  great  Pontiff,  Pius  IX,  Mother  Francis'  joy  was 
unbounded.  "There  can  be  no  longer  doubt  of  the 
spotless  purity  of  our  Sinless  Mother,"  she  exclaim- 
ed. To  little  Bernadette,  in  the  Grrotto  of  Lourdes, 
she  said,  "I  am  the  Immaculate  Conception,"  and 
now  Pius  IX  proclaims  it  to  the  world. 

"  Few  Orders  in  the  Church  have  as  much  reason 
to  rejoice  at  this  decision  as  the  Order  of  Mercy, 
whose  foundations  she  has  so  specially  favored — 
whether  under  the  burning  sun  of  the  tropics,  amid 
the  pleasant  breezes  of  the  temperate  zone,  or  brav- 
ing the  fogs  and  snows  of  Newfoundland.  In  pros- 
perity and  adversity,  in  weal  and  woe,  she  has  been 
with  us.  Under  her  protection  we  are  being  per- 
fected in  the  shadow  of  the  Cross." 
(173) 


174         LIFE    OF     MOTHER    MAlil"    MOXHOLLAND. 

Nor  did  the  "Immaculate  Conception"  of  Lonrdes 
forget  Mother  Francis.  Thirty-four  years  later,  in 
1888,  on  the  Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception, 
she  greeted  her  in  heaven,  when  God  called  her  to 
eternal  joy,  laden  with  the  merits  and  good  works  of 
a  well-spent  life.  The  commemoration  of  her  death 
occurs  on  the  beautiful  Feast  she  loved. 

Her  devotion  to  St.  Joseph  was  almost  as  fervent 
as  her  devotion  to  his  holy  Spouse.  In  business 
transactions  she  always  invoked  his  aid.  When  the 
foundations  of  the  new  academy  were  being  dug,  in 
1863,  the  architect,  in  calculating  for  the  cellar,  over- 
looked, or  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  take  into  ac- 
count, that  Lake  Michigan  was  only  two  streets  dis- 
tant, and  that  he  must  not  dig  too  deep. 

The  cellar  was  to  have  been  eight  feet  high. 
Scarcely  was  a  depth  of  four  feet  reached,  however, 
when  the  water  of  the  Lake  came  rushing  through  a 
fissure.  The  noise  was  heard  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance, and  soon  the  large  excavation  became  a  surg- 
ing body  of  water,  in  which  the  workmen  stood  cov- 
ered to  their  waists.  The  stupefied  architect,  not 
anticipating  such  an  event,  hurriedly  ordered  to  be 
filled  in,  what  he  had  previously  ordered  to  be  dug 
out ;  yet  the  water  continued  to  rise.  Adjacent  prop- 
erty  owners  came  to  demand  protection  for  their 
homes.  The  architect  strove  to  allay  their  fears 
without  allaying  his  own. 

Although  a  few  such  accidents  had,  from  time  to 


THE    LAKE    WATER.  175 

time,  occurred  near  the  Lake  Shore,  a  danger-line 
overflow  was  prevented  by  not  digging  foundations 
for  buildings  dee}),  and  houses  erected  there  are  as 
safe  as  anywhere  else  in  the  city.  It  was  Mother 
Francis'  second  experience,  which  naturally  alarmed 
her. 

Noting  what  was  passing,  in  mute  dismay,  she  rang 
the  community  bell  to  assemble  the  Sisters  in  the 
chapel  to  pray  to  St.  Joseph  for  help.  The  exigency 
being  extreme,  their  prayers  were  fervent.  In  an 
hour  the  flood  went  down.  Mother  Francis  would 
have  prayed  all  night  to  St.  Joseph  to  save  the  con- 
vent, but  that  the  crest-fallen  architect  asked  to  see 
her.  It  was  his  first  building  contract,  and  the  ac- 
cident annoyed  him.  "Madam,"  he  began,  "I  ac- 
knowledge the  cellar  is  spoiled  through  my  miscal- 
culation. It  cannot  now  be  more  than  one-half  the 
height  required  by  the  specifications.  I  had  no  idea 
the  water  of  the  Lake  extended  to  Wabash  Avenue. 
However,  I  have  succeeded  in  stopping  the  flow, 
which  I  cannot  easily  explain,  as  it  stopped  as  sud- 
denly as  it  came." 

"  You  succeeded  in  stopping  it.  Not  at  all,  sir," 
replied  Mother  Francis.  "St.  Joseph  stopped  it; 
otherwise  the  avenue  might  have  been  submerged.  It 
stopped  when  our  hour  of  prayer  was  ended."  Hear- 
ing for  the  first  time  of  St.  Joseph  and  his  interfer- 
ence in  such  matters,  the  infidel  architect,  looking 
mystified,  returned  to  the  spoiled  cellar.     The  "hour 


176    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

of  prayer"  mystified  him  as  much  as  Saint  Joseph. 
It  was  customary  with  Mother  Francis  to  place  a 
billet  on  St.  Joseph's  altar,  in  which  were  written 
her  wants  and  her  desires;  after  which,  very  often,  her 
wants  were  supplied  and  her  desires  were  granted. 

Only  those  who  knew  her  best,  could  testify  to  her 
mee"k  patience.  "  There  is  a  point  at  which  patience 
ceased  to  be  a  virtue,"  is  an  adage  in  the  world.  But 
Mother  Francis  knew  no  such  boundary  line,  as  she 
practiced  this  difficult  virtue  to  the  extremest  limits 
of  forbearance.  Ingratitude  from  those  upon  whom 
she  had  lavished  favors,  did  not  disturb  it.  Unkind 
words  spoken  in  her  presence  did  not  provoke  unkind 
words  in  return.  The  petulence  of  young  candidates, 
not  yet  moulded,  "according  to  the  pattern  on  the 
Mount,"  did  not  draw  from  her  the  least  harshness  of 
expression.  She  taught  them  patience  by  exemplify- 
ing it  in  their  mutual  daily  intercourse,  and  her  teach- 
ing seldom  failed  of  having  the  desired  effect. 

On  many  occasions,  sometimes  trying  ones,  she 
was  obliged  to  listen  to  language  that  reflected  on 
herself.  On  no  occasion  did  she  add  fuel  to  the  fire, 
by  speaking  words  she  might  afterwards  regret.  Si- 
lence was  her  only  defense,  so  that  those  who  cen- 
sured were  confounded  and  ashamed.  Whatever  fires 
burned  within,  she  let  none  appear  without.  Patience, 
the  sister  of  meekness,  was  practiced  by  her  to  an 
heroic  degree,  although  she  was  naturally  choleric  and 
impatient. 


THE    LAKE    WATER.  177 

The  holy  Foundress  of  the  Order  of  Mercy,  strongly 
inculcated  the  practice  of  patience,  as  well  as  of  po- 
liteness, in  the  Sisters'  social  intercourse  among  them- 
selves, as  well  as  in  their  intercourse  with  others; 
and  few  of  her  daughters  took  the  lesson  more  per- 
fectly to  heart,  than  patient,  meek  Mother  Francis. 
'The  one  who  submits  is  the  one  who  conquers," 
was  a  frequent  saying  of  hers,  and  as  far  as  she  was 
concerned,  a  true  one. 

Once,  a  clergyman  from  Galena,  lately  appointed 
to  the  pastorate,  in  an  outburst  of  zeal,  came  to  Chi- 
cago to  ask  her  to  give  the  convent  property  owned 
there,  by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  to  another  congrega- 
tion, without  compensation.  Determined  to  carry  his 
point,  if  possible,  he  declared  in  strong  language, 
that  she  was  the  cause  of  the  Sisters'  failure  in  Ga- 
lena (he  did  not  know  she  was  never  in  Galena) ;  that 
she  exceeded  her  authority,  as  he  had  been  informed, 
by  withdrawing  them;  that  the  absence  of  Sisters 
placed  him  in  a  dilemma;  and  that  the  least  she 
could  do  in  reparation,  was  to  deed  over  the  property 
to  the  community  with  whom  he  was  negotiating. 
Other  Sisters  had  failed  in  Galena  after  the  Sisters 
of  Mercy  left,  for  whom  he  had  no  word  of  unkind- 
ness;  at  least  he  did  not  refer  to  them. 

His  heated  words  were  so  evidently  an  error  of 
judgment,  that  a  dead  silence  followed.  Mother 
Francis  turned  pale,  but  not  a  muscle  of  her  face 
moved.  As  an  answer  had  to  be  given,  however,  she 
said  quietly,  to  relieve  the  embarrassment: 


178    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAXD. 

"Thanks,  Rev.  Father,  for  your  charity  in  pointing 
out  my  defects.  Your  reproaches  are  fully  deserved. 
Please  pray  for  me.     And  further,  I  decline  to  say." 

"Does  she  always  take  abuse  as  patiently  as  that?" 
he  asked,  looking  in  amazement  at  the  Sister  present. 

"Always,  Father,"  replied  Sister,  "but  you  sur- 
prise me." 

Mother  Francis,  then,  on  her  knees,  asked  his 
blessing,  received  it,  and  withdrew.  Having  failed 
in  his  mission,  the  reverend  gentleman  assured  Sister 
it  was  the  last  business  of  the  kind  he  would  ever 
undertake,  and  expressing  regret  for -his  visit,  ex- 
plained that  it  was  wholly  in  the  interest  of  others. 

After  the  change  in  the  administration  of  the 
Orphan  Asylum,  two  reverend  gentlemen,  authorized 
to  do  so,  called  upon  Mother  Francis  to  say  that 
the  change  was  a  necessity;  alleging,  among  other 
things,  the  unfitness  of  the  house,  the  poorness  of 
the  food  and  clothing,  the  strange  fact  that  a  surplus 
was  not  found  to  the  credit  of  the  asylum. 

She  listened  for  awhile,  apparently  unmoved, 
'Gentlemen,"  she  said,  at  last,  "I  am  grateful  that 
you  tell  me  of  my  shortcomings.  Perhaps,  I  should 
have  done  better.  The  evil  is  remedied  now — all 
parties  are  satisfied.  I  am,  at  least,  by  the  deep 
humiliation;  and  God  knows  what  is  best  for  us  all." 

This  meek  answer  made  the  reverend  visitors  feel 
anything  but  comfortable.  They  assured  her,  if  the 
thing  had  to  be  done  over  again,  they  would  not  be 


AN    OBSTINATE    CARRIAGE    DRIVER.  .  179 

parties  to  it.  One  of  them,  when  afterward  raised 
to  the  episcopal  throne,  did  not  forget  the  patience 
she  displayed  on  that  trying  occasion;  nor  the  pain 
she  endured  in  the  asylum  business;  and  endeavored 
to  atone  for  it  by  extreme  kindness.  This  gentle- 
man -was  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  McMuilen,  whose  experi- 
ences in  Chicago,  in  divers  ways,  led  him  to  readily 
sympathize  with  others. 

Once,  going  out  to  the  farm  on -a  sultry  afternoon, 
in  the  convent  carriage,  Mother  Francis  expressly 
charged  the  driver  to  keep  out  of  the  rush  of 
vehicles  on  State  Street,  through  which  crowded 
thoroughfare  they  must  pass.  The  man,  who  prided 
himself  on  his  horsemanship,  listened  sullenly,  and 
started  off  on  a  mad  gallop.  The  Sister  accompany- 
ing Rev.  Mother,  called  out  to  him  to  stop,  as  a 
jam  of  carriages,  buggies,  wagons,  and  other  convey- 
ances, was  right  ahead  of  him.  ';I  drove  better 
horses  than  these,"  he  exclaimed  excitedly.  "Let 
me  alone.     We'll  come  out  all  right.1' 

But  he  did  not.  A  frightened  team  ran  full  against 
them,  with  a  force  that  smashed  both  vehicles,  and 
seriously  injured  the  horses.  The  Sisters  were  un- 
ceremoniously thrown  into  the  middle  of  the  street; 
the  man  vainly  struggled  to  raise  the  fallen  horses. 

With  a  quickness  of  action  peculiar  to  her,  Moth- 
er Francis  regained  her  feet,  and  returned  to  the 
convent,  which  was  only  a  few  blocks  distant,  with- 
out once  looking  back  either  at  the  man  or  the  wreck. 


180    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MAEY  MONHOLLAND. 

Sister  followed,  limping  from  the  effects  of  the  fall, 
that  did  not  seen  to  much  inconvenience  Mother 
Francis,  who  led  a  charmed  life,  as  far  as  accidents 
were  concerned. 

"I  suppose  you  think  it  cruel  to  leave  that  fellow 
in  such  a  dilemma  without  speaking  to  him,"  she 
remarked  to  Sister,  when  they  entered  the  convent. 
'"If  I  spoke  as  I  feel,  I  could  not  control  my  temper, 
and  sin  would  most  likely  be  committed.  'Be  angry, 
and  sin  not,'  is  a  precept  reduced  to  practice,  only  by 
some  such  experience  as  this."  "I  cannot  help 
being  amused  at  the  way  you  walked  out  of  the  diffi- 
culty," Sister  replied,  "and  I  do  think  you  treated 
him  strangely." 

Mother  Francis  was  surprised  at  the  nonchalance 
of  her  own  act,  and  the  obstinate  driver  came  to  ask 
pardon,  expecting  to  be  overwhelmed  with  reproaches. 

"I  never  felt  so  sorry  for  anything  in  my  life, 
Mother  Francis,"  he  said.  "If  you  had  spoken  a 
cross  word  to  me  when  you  were  pitched  out  of  the 
carriage,  I  would  have  jumped  into  the  Lake.  You 
won't  have  to  pay  for  the  damages,  anyway.  I  am  a 
poor  man,  but  as  I  did  the  mischief;  I  will  pay  for  it. 
And,  please  God,  I  will  take  your  advice  next  time." 

"Very  well,"  she  said  gently,  "I  see  you  are  sorry, 
but  remember  that  Sister  and  I  might  have  been 
killed.  We  know  you  are  poor,  therefore,  the  dam- 
ages needn't  trouble  you.  Only  be  more  careful  and 
less  obstinate  in  future." 


AN    OBSTINATE    CARRIAGE    DRIVER.  181 

"I  declare,  Mother  Francis'  patience  made  me 
ashamed  of  myself/'  he  said  humbly  enough  after- 
ward.    "It's  a  good  lesson  for  me,  and  I  needed  it." 

Many  marveled  at  her  forbearance.  Few  knew 
the  struggles  it  cost  her.  Constantly  exposed  to  the 
observation  of  others,  and  to  the  fire  of  the  sharpest 
criticism,  her  opportunities  for  practicing,  this,  her 
favorite  virtue,  were  of  daily,  nay,  of  hourly  occur- 
rence, which  she  always  turned  to  her  spiritual  profit. 
They  are  best  known  by  those  who  witnessed  them. 
Better  still,  they  are  known  to  Him  who  said,  "In 
your  patience  you  shall  possess  your  souls." 

Exteriorly,  Mother  Francis  controlled  the  least 
semblance  of  impatience;  interiorly,  she  gained  the 
victory  over  self  by  practicing  the  contrary  virtue. 
Indeed,  few  servants  of  God  ever  strove  more  ear- 
nestly to  obey  the  divine  injunction:  " Be  ye  perfect, 
as  your  heavenly  Father  is  perfect,"  than  she  did,  as 
an  humble,  mortified  Sister  of  Mercy. 

If  night-watching  had  to  be  done  by  the  bedside 
of  a  dying  Sister,  she  was  there  to  save  others  the 
fatigue.  If  too  much  labor  seemed  to  be  imposed 
on  any  one,  she  helped  unseen.  If  accident  of  any 
kind  occurred  during  the  night,  she  remained  up  for 
the  night  repairing  it.  If  a  postulant  showed  signs 
of  discouragement,  as  sometimes  happened,  she  told 
her  of  Mother  McAuley's  postulancy,  inducing  her 
to  follow  that  exemplar.  If  a  teaching  Sister  was 
directed  to  go  on   the  visitation  of  the  sick  after 


182    LIFE  OF  MOTHER  MARY  MONHOLLAND. 

school  hours,  she  begged  to  be  permitted  to  take  her 
place.  When  she  was  Superior,  and  did  not  need  to 
ask  permission,  she  often  performed  this  duty  though 
physically  unable  for  it,  to  spare  the  Sisters. 

When  an  incorrigible  pupil  was  brought  to  her  by 
a  Sister  whose  methods  of  persuasion  had  failed;  she 
took  the  offender  aside,  and  appealed  to  her  better 
feelings  with  such  persuasiveness  that  the  obstinate 
one  yielded,  and  was  sent  back  to  the  school-room, 
repentant,  submissive,  .  studiously  inclined.  She 
possessed  the  gift  of  working  on  the  good  side  of 
human  nature,  pretending  to  ignore  the  bad;  which, 
with  some  characters,  is  a  powerful  incentive  to  the 
practice  of  virtue. 

Hear  heart  was  so  expansive,  that  it  responded  to 
the  spiritual  or  temporal  wants  of  all  who  came 
within  her  reach.  She  could  govern  a  city,  or  ad- 
just a  child's  grievances.  Yet  she  did  not  forget, 
that  the  first  care  of  a  religious,  is  the  care  of  her 
own  soul.  All  through  a  long  eventful  career,  filled 
with  a  thousand  mundane  cares,  often  vexatious  ones, 
she  made  unceasing  efforts  to  curb  her  natural  in- 
clinations; to  be  united  with  her  Divine  Spouse,  in 
thought,  word  and  action,  at  all  times,  in  all  places, 
amid  all  labors;  until,  at  last,  she  rested  calmly,  long 
before  her  happy  death,  on  the  peaceful  heights  of 
sanctity  to  which  her  soul  had  risen. 

Bodily  pain,  of  which  she  had  her  full  share,  was, 
as  she    often  declared,   her  merciful    nailing  to   the 


AN    OBSTINATE    CARRIAGE    DRIVER.  183 

cross  she  sought  for  when  first  contemplating  en- 
trance on  religious  life.  St.  Andrew's  passionate 
soul-cry:  "Beloved  cross!  long  expected,  ardently 
desired,  receive  me  into  thy  arms,  bring  me  to  my 
God!  "  was  often  re-echoed  in  Mother  Francis'  heart, 
as  it  was  in  the  hearts  of  millions  of  others  who  have 
appeared  upon  the  scene  of  life,  during  the  centuries 
that  have  come  and  gone  since  the  Crucifixion 
Eclipse. 

Although  she  has  passed  away  from  earth,  her 
memory  lives  in  many  hearts.  Some  one  wrote  of 
Archbishop  Hughes,  after  his  decease:  "They  are 
the  living,  and  they  alone,  we  vainly  call  the  dead." 
The  good  die  not.  She  has  joined  "  the  community 
in  heaven,"  among  whom  is  numbered  the  holy  Irish 
philanthropist,  Catherine  McAuley,  foundress  of  the 
Order  of  Mercy,  who  expended  a  princely  fortune 
inherited  from  her  foster-parents,  converted  by  her 
to  Catholicity,  in  restoring  monasticism  in  the  Brit- 
ish Islands,  after  ages  of  suppression  and  persecu- 
tion. Mother  Mary  Francis  de  Sales  Monholland 
was  one  of  her  most  wTorthy  daughters. 

THE    END. 


mwm 


EdMlte:  " 


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•.-■-. 


|S 


i  /y^TfTWiVw^rT^N  s i^u jr  w  r*\i  w  ^  j^  m  «  >  » 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

3  M7AQ1  C001 

LIFE  OF  MARY  MONHOLLANO,  ONE  OF  THE  PION 


3  0112  025408060 


